


scheming monsters

by kaitycole



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:49:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27620264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaitycole/pseuds/kaitycole
Summary: Two little friends have always desired one thing: to end up as siblings. So when the chance presented itself after a finalized divorce, who were they to decline such an opportunity to finally bring their parents together?
Relationships: Bokuto Koutarou/Original Female Character(s), Bokuto Koutarou/Reader, Female Reader x OC
Comments: 13
Kudos: 49





	1. does she know?

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a babythots collab series called Dearest Daddy on Tumblr, please check the others out!

February 2025

“DADDY!”

Frowns fill the faces of those who look at the small girl yelling as she works her way through the sea of people to the court. Where are her parents? Riddle the faces of those around, but she pays no mind, she’s on a mission and there’s nothing that’s going to get in her way.

She screams out again, but this time stops halfway when she sees who she’s been looking for. A large smile spreads across her lips as she starts sprinting across the wooden court.

“Daddy!” She cries out once more and this time he hears her.

His round, golden eyes find her matching ones and he immediately stops whatever conversation he’s having, dropping into a squat with his arm extended outwards, just in time to catch her as she throws herself into his arms.

She wraps her arms tightly around his neck, barely allowing him room to pull her backwards just long enough for him to place a kiss on her forehead. She quickly realizes the mistake she’s made before pushing against him, telling him that he needs to shower. With a loud, hearty laugh, he puts her feet back onto the court before ruffling her hair.

“I am so sorry, Bo.” You start to apologize, “She took off and there are so many people.”

He waves you off before looking down at his daughter, who already knows what he’s going to say. “Seiko, you know better. What do you need to tell Y/N?”

“I’m sorry Y/N.” Seiko puts on her best apologetic face, poking out her bottom lip to added effect.

You laugh, shaking your head looking at the golden eyed little girl whose hair matches her mother’s brunette hair instead of Bokuto’s wild mix of colors. “Thank you, Seiko.”

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

You slip the phone out of your back pocket before rolling your eyes at the name on your screen before pressing the side button twice; sending the caller straight to voicemail. Bokuto cocks his head to the side, having watched the whole ordeal, but before he can question your actions your son grabs his attention.

“Uncle Bo you looked so awesome!” Your son Haruki exclaims as he eagerly jumps up to give the volleyball player a high-five.

“I did, didn’t I?” Bokuto throws his head up victoriously while you and Seiko just roll your eyes.

* *  
“Careful, careful. Hold on to each other!” You call out to Haruki and Seiko as they run down the sidewalk and into a small café near the stadium. It had become somewhat of a tradition to eat there after a game or at least the games you and Haruki could attend. Seiko and Haruki are still talking a mile a minute as Bo opens the door for everyone.

Sometimes you couldn’t help but wonder if they were best friends because they were born just a few months apart and raised almost like siblings or if it had anything to do with you and Bo being best friends. You had met by complete accident; you had gone to your locker to get a textbook when you saw a boy with crazy colored spiky hair trying to open it.

When you questioned what he was doing trying to open your locker, he looked completely puzzled before stating it was his. You debated it for a few moments before he handed you the paper with his locker number and combination. You pointed out his locker was in fact the one next to yours, causing him to laugh. After that every day you were greeted with a very enthusiastic ‘hey hey hey’ and were attached at the hip. That had been 16 years ago.

The four of you pile into the same booth as always with you sitting across from Seiko and Haruki across from Bokuto. Your son absolutely adores the wing spiker and has been begging you to let him start playing volleyball too, but your husband doesn’t think he should.

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

You quickly click the button on the right side of your phone, this time just silencing it instead of sending it to voicemail.

“Are you getting excited to see your mom, Seiko?” You ask after the waitress takes everyone’s usual orders.

She beams, “Yes! She said we can go No Very Farms!”

You look between her and Bo confusingly before he corrects her ‘No Very Farm’ to ‘Knott’s Berry Farm’ and explaining that it’s an amusement park in California. It still surprised you to this day that Bokuto ended up having a kid with an American journalist. Mostly because there was so much mystery as to why they didn’t end up together.

You’ve seen them interact on several occasions and they always seemed to get along really well. You understand that some people just don’t work together, but Bo and Jess were great. They even had an adorable how we met story, but alas they didn’t end up together.

“And Mommy said we can take lots of pictures to mail to Daddy since he’s gonna miss me.” She giggles.

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

“Aren’t you gonna miss me?” Bo looks at his daughter who is still giggling as she shakes her head no. He places his hand on his chest and gasps before turning away from her, pretending to cry.

“I’ll miss you daddy, please don’t cry!” Seiko tries to throw her arms around his broad shoulders but her arms just aren’t long enough to wrap around his muscular form. She whispers repeatedly that she was just joking before he turns around, wrapping her into a hug.

This will be only the second time since finding out he would be a dad that he’d be apart from Seiko for more than a few days. Being a professional athlete meant that he spent a lot of time traveling, but those trips never lasted longer than five days. The first time was when she was two and he was gone for two weeks, this time she’d be gone for two months and he’d miss her fifth birthday. Jess has already promised to live stream her party and Bo had already mailed Seiko’s gift to Jess so she’ll be able to open it on her actual birthday, but it still feels like the end of the world.

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

“You can answer that if you want.” Bo offers, “If you need to step outside, Haruki won’t mind sitting here with us.”

Haruki smiles up at you, “Yeah Mom. Your phone has been going off since we left home.”

You shoot your son a look, the ‘you shouldn’t have said that’ look which causes him to sink down in his seat. Truth be told you don’t want to answer the phone, you have nothing really to say to the person on the other end, but you didn’t want to ruin your outing with Bo and Seiko either.

“It’s fine. I can just get it later.”

Bo drops the subject as Seiko and Haruki begin talking about Seiko’s trip some more which includes promises of souvenirs, handwritten letters, and daily video chats.

You look at your phone: 6 missed calls, 3 voicemails, and 18 missed text messages. All from Nakajima Youta, your husband. As you sit there, staring at the excessive amount of notifications, your mind begins to wonder.

* *  
September 2018

It was an early autumn day, the kind where it wasn’t too chilly but the overbearing heat of the summer was long gone. You sat in a room, surrounded by your mother, friends and future mother-in-law as they all chatted away about how beautiful everything looks. You fiddled with your engagement ring as your mother pinned your hair up, pressing her cheek to yours as she smiled at you through the mirror.

There was a knock at the door and your mother was shocked to see it was Youta who had his hand over his eyes.

“Youta? What are you doing?”

“It’s bad luck to see the bride, but I just need her for four seconds.”

A smile twitched on your lips as you walked over to him, “What’s going on?”

He removed his hand from his eyes, but they are tightly squeezed shut as he awkwardly moved his arms around before finding your face. He stepped closer before he pressed a chaste kiss on your lips, his thumb gently stroked your cheek.

“What was that for?”

“This will sound lame, but I’m kinda nervous and I figured you were too. Thought it couldn’t hurt.”

You saw him smile before turning around so you could shut the door before he opened his eyes. Your mother and his began to talk about how sweet that exchange was. Followed by them wondering how you were remaining so calm when they had been complete messes before their wedding. Then it hit you that you were extremely calm, not once had you thought of bolting or canceling the wedding which to you was strange. You get nervous about a lot of things, you second-guessed a ton of things, and here you were with nerves of steel.

* *  
Two weeks later

“Mommy!” Seiko bounces up and down, glancing up at Bo with a huge smile on her face. Jess flew in so that she could attend a volleyball game with Seiko before heading to California. The original plan was for Bo to fly out with Seiko, but a last-minute change to the MSBY game schedule disrupted the plan.

“Hey baby girl!” She scoops the little girl up in her arms, spinning her around. She peppers her face with kisses as Seiko squeals, wrapping her arms around Jess’ neck. “Hey Bo.”

“Jess!” Bo wraps Jess and Seiko in a hug before placing a quick kiss on her temple. He grabs her bags as Seiko refuses to be put down; claiming she was too tired to walk. The family of three walk through the airport and make their way to the parking lot.

The ride back to Bo’s apartment is filled with Seiko asking her mom all about California, the same thing she’s asked her every night since she learned she was going. It doesn’t matter to Seiko that her mom has already told her the same thing, it’s different because this time her mom is sitting next to her instead of telling her through a screen.

* *  
“Can we watch a movie?” Seiko asks as Bo and Jess finish cleaning up the kitchen from dinner.

“Of course.”

“YAY!” Seiko screams before running up to hug Bo and Jess then takes off to find the movie she wants to watch.

“She gets that from you.” Jess says.

“Her adorableness? I know.” Bo sticks his tongue out and Jess throws the towel in her hands at him. The kitchen fills with laughter as Seiko comes running back down the hallway, DVD case in hand.

“I want to watch this one!” Seiko holds up Coco; it was her favorite movie lately which Bo was thankful for, he was tired of watching The Lion King 2.

It wasn’t even 45 minutes into the movie and Seiko was asleep on Bo’s lap, his shirt tightly gripped in her little fist while Jess’s head is rested on his shoulder.

“Jess?” Bo whispers, not wanting to wake their daughter.

“Mm.” She hums, half asleep.

“She’s asleep. Want to tuck her in with me?”

She nods against his shoulder before sitting up, stretching the best she could; her body heavy with sleep. Bo cradles their daughter in his arms as they walk into the four-year old’s room; it’s decorated in fairy lights, purples and grays with owls everywhere. She has books on the floor, she said she had been doing research for her and Haruki’s next adventure and crayons littered her desks with drawings she had done to take to California.

Jess pulls the blanket over Seiko, pressing a kiss to her forehead before the little girl turns over to get comfortable. Bo turns off the light after making sure her nightlight is plugged in.

“You’re really good at that.” Jess says as she curls back up on the couch, Bo getting himself a glass of water.

“Turning off lights?” He laughs when she rolls her eyes.

“At being a dad.” She smiles, “I never really did thank you for how great you were with all of this.”

He just shrugs, “I couldn’t imagine having a kid with anyone else.”

A wide grin spreads across her face, “Really? No one? Not even someone with a son? A son who is best friends with Seiko. No one else? Huh.”

Blush faintly covers his cheeks as he clears his throat, “She’s married Jess. Plus, we already talked about that, remember? When we met?”

* *  
October 2018

“That’s all we have time for today. A special thank you again to Bokuto Kōtarō and congratulations on the win.”

The cameraman signaled that they aren’t live anymore before the brunette let out a sigh.

“Are you okay?” Bokuto asked.

“Oh.” She started to fiddle with the microphone cord, “This was my first interview, I’m new to Japan.”

“Well you did great!” He exclaimed, holding up a hand for a high-five. The woman looked at him like he’s crazy but complied.

“Thanks. Ah, so did you.”

Bo smiled, “Jess, right?” She nodded. “I can show you around if you want.”

She shook her head, “Oh no, I couldn’t impose like that.”

Bo waved her off, “I really don’t mind. I think it’ll be fun.”

“Only if you’re sure. I have a guidebook I don’t mind using.”

Bo scrunched his face up, “Those don’t show you half of the best places.” He asked for her phone and put his number in. “Just let me know when you’re free and we’ll work it out.”

She smiled, going to speak before you ran up to Bo whose expression had changed; it was no longer just a polite look but one of adoration. His eyes appeared softer and the way his face lit would melt anyone’s heart.

“You did so great out there!” You throw your arms around him.

“Thank you.” His cheeks turned red which didn’t go unnoticed by Jess, “Y/N, this is Andrews Jess, she conducted the postgame interview.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Nakajima Y/N.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Jess said, feeling a tad bit awkward and blurted out the first thing she could think of, “You two make a lovely couple.”

“Oh no. No no no.” You shook your head, “We’re best friends. I’ve known Bo here forever.”

There was a slight shift in Bo’s demeanor but a shift nevertheless when a wave of sadness washes over his expression. He almost seems to have stiffened at the word ‘friend’ and somehow his hair seemed to have deflated. Jess tried not to think too much into it, she doesn’t know him or them at all.

“Y/N! Y/N!” Hinata waved from across the court.

“Hinata!” You waved back before heading over to meet Hinata.

“Did you see my spikes!?” He jumped up and down, “They were all swoosh bam!”

Jess looked back to Bo, “This is probably way out of line, but does she know?”

Bokuto frowned as his attention went back to Jess, “Does she know what?”

“That you have feelings for her?”

“I don’t…” He stopped when he saw the same look in her eyes that he’s seen in his, “No. She just got married.”


	2. how it all began

October 2018

Jess wasn’t sure if she should take Bo up on his offer, her mind had her convinced that it was just him being friendly. He saw the way he had looked at you and yeah, he said you had just gotten married, but that doesn’t mean feelings just fade.

She had pulled up his contact several times in the two weeks since she’d gotten it. Since she wasn’t familiar with Osaka or Japan at all, there were no run-ins with him which Jess couldn’t decide if that was good or bad.

It was a rainy Friday when she finally texted him; her thoughts had caught up to her and it dawned on her that no number of miles would cure the pain in her heart.

The adult part of her understood that people are busy and Bo wasn’t ignoring her, he is a pro-athlete after all. But the other part of her, the part that isn’t so mature, chalks up the 20 minutes that passed as he didn’t really mean his offer.

Bo was finishing up in the locker room after practice, he pulled his phone out of his bag before stuffing in his practice clothes. He was on his way out when he finally glanced down and saw two notifications.

Y/N: Just wanted to remind you that I won’t be able to text until next Friday! I’ll bring back souvenirs! (4:05 pm)

He didn’t reply, it was painful to hear about your honeymoon and to be fair he didn’t really want a souvenir either; some constant reminder that you were with someone else. Not to mention all you talked about was how much Youta wanted to start a family. Yeah, he really didn’t need that reminder.

He did perk up however when he saw the second text, one from an unknown number.

Jess: Hey. It’s Jess. (3:12 pm)

Bo quickly noticed that it’d been over an hour since Jess texted him and he panicked. Should he call her or text her back? He groaned when he got to the main exit only to see it was pouring and he once again forgot an umbrella.

Bokuto: Hey! Just got out of practice, sup? (4:40 pm)

Jess smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead, instantly feeling dumb for not realizing it sooner. She stared at her screen, suddenly unsure of what to say.

Jess: I was wondering if your offer was still available? (4:44 pm)

A huge grin spread across Bokuto’s face as he read the message. It no longer mattered to him that it was raining heavily as he walked to the bus station or that he’d have to shower again when he got home.

Bokuto: ‘Course! When are you free? (4:50 pm)

Jess: Sunday? Noon? (4:51 pm)

Bokuto: See you then! (4:52 pm)

Saturday was spent texting Bo most of the day, eagerly deciding where they should go. They ended up agreeing to go to the Shinsaibashi district once Jess mentioned needing to pick up a few things for her apartment. They were both surprised when they learned they lived in neighboring complexes, just a short walk to the others.

On Sunday, Bo all but bounced his way to Jess’s apartment. He had mentioned their texts and conversations to Kuroo who was almost as excited as Bo was; Kuroo liked you, he always had, but he didn’t like seeing Bo so hung up on you and Jess gave him a way to let you go. Jess opened the door and was taken back for a moment, the last time she’d seen Bo he was post-game sweaty in a volleyball uniform, but here he was in her doorway wearing tight black jeans and a hoodie taking her breath away.

Bokuto smiled when saw Jess dressed up; when they met she had on a pantsuit, but here she looked more comfortable. She had one a maroon knee-length dress, stockings and brown boots, accompanied with a scarf; her brown hair was down and curled.

“Ready?” He reached out his hand.

“Ready!” She took his hand as she shut the door.

* *  
A few hours shopping around Shinsaibashi and Bo’s hands are full with most of Jess’s bags. She swore to him that she really didn’t mind carrying them, they were hers after all, but Bo wouldn’t hear it. What kind of gentleman would he be if he didn’t help? She has a few new pieces to add to her wardrobe, a couple of picture frames for prints she wanted to hang up and a few beauty ideas.

He motioned for her to head to a café, sitting her bags in a spare chair at their table.

“You sure there’ll be room in your apartment for all this?” He teased.

Her cheeks burn red as she tried to hide her face with the menu, “I’m sorry. I could’ve gone shopping on my own. I’m sure you don’t want to waste a day off running errands.”

He waved her off, “It’s fine. This is fun. My only plans were to watch TV.”

“Oh. I guess I thought you might hang out with Y/N.” Jess smiled at the waitress as she ordered.

Bo quickly ordered what Jess had, not really paying much attention the mention of you had thrown him for a loop. “I…uhm…she’s out of town.” He cleared his throat, “Honeymoon.”

“I…I am so sorry! I shouldn’t have said anything!” Jess’s eye widened instantly feeling awful. “Wow I just keep messing up today.”

“It’s fine. Really.” He took a sip of his water, “I’m having a lot of fun.”

Jess bit her lip before she began to pick at the croissant she had ordered. Bo ate quietly too which was odd for him but he really wasn’t sure what to say.

“So?” They both spoke at the same time causing them both to laugh.

“You go first.” She offered with a small smile.

“What brought you to Japan?” Bo asked, mouth slightly full of croissant which makes her laugh for a second.

She fiddled with her napkin, her mouth dried slightly. “Can I speak freely?”

Bo cocked his head to the side, not fully understanding, “Of course.”

“I guess you could say I have a Y/N of my own.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “His name is Mark and for years he told me that when he fulfilled his goals, he’d finally be ready for a relationship. Well six years is a long time and 5300+ miles seemed far enough to start over.”

Bo nodded, part of him was glad that he met someone who understood, but the other part, the bigger part of him hated it because no one deserves to feel that way.

“Well, Mark sounds like a dick, but I am glad that it brought you here. I like you.” Bo smiled, noticing her cheeks turned bright pink.

“I like you too.” Jess smiled.

* *  
It didn’t take long for Jess and Bo to become attached at the hip; after the first few hangouts they quickly learned they had a lot in common. And for the things they didn’t have in common? They just taught each other about it.

The moment she expressed interest in volleyball, Bo jumped on the opportunity to teach her; even bringing her to the gym to show her a few moves with Hinata and Kuroo. The latter spent most of the time teasing Bo by flirting with Jess, even picking her up when she assisted in a block. Kuroo lived to pick on Bo, but he was happy Bo had someone in his life to help him get move on. He even managed to snap a photo when Bo picked up her, cheering with a sparkle in her eyes when she spiked a ball.

When Bo mentioned that he had always liked plants but couldn’t seem to keep on alive, Jess jumped on the chance to help him. Her apartment was filled with various types of plants; flowers and herbs and Bo loved listening to her go on and on about them. She went out and bought pots, soil and seeds and made it a challenge to see who could grow their plant the tallest; Bo quickly accepted and then in the same breath overwatered the seeds. Jess gifted him a fake plant short after.

Mid-April 2019

“Are you sure I look okay?” Jess asked, for the fourth time since Bo picked her up. They were sitting in his car outside of Kuroo’s apartment. Just like the other three times, he assured her that she looked beautiful.

“You’ll be the best looking one there.” Bo smiled as she rolled her eyes at him. He wasn’t lying, based on what Bo heard from Kuroo it was mostly just going be you, Jess, Bo, Kuroo and Kenma.

She looked down at her outfit one more time; dark blue skinny jeans, a pale pink flowy top with a thin gray sweater. She knew she’d looked fine, this was her go-to outfit back in California, but for some reason she didn’t feel confident in it. Maybe she should’ve worn her black ankle boots instead of her chestnut brown ones.

Her thoughts are interrupted when Bo opened her door, reaching his hand for hers. She gave him a straight smile as he pulled her into a hug. Breathing in his woody scented cologne instantly relaxed her; sandalwood quickly became a scent she yearned for since meeting him.

He lifted her chin with his index finger, making eye contact with her, “You look stunning. Stop worrying so much.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead causing her to smile.

He intertwined his fingers with hers before they walked into Kuroo’s apartment. Kuroo quickly answered the door.

“HEY HEY HEY!” Bo shouted in reply to Kuroo’s “HEY HEY!”

“Hey, Kuroo.” Jess smiled and then blushed when Kuroo grabbed her free hand, kissing the back of it.

“You know you can call me Tetsu.” He winked which caused Bo to pull Jess into the apartment, muttering that Kuroo worked just fine. Bo knew Kuroo was doing it to get under his skin, he wasn’t clueless, but Jess meant the world to Bo and he wanted to protect her. Kuroo was one of his closest friends and yeah, he trusted him, but Mark was still constantly on Jess’s mind. She needed more time to heal.

You were sitting on the couch when Bo and Jess walked in. You smiled at the pair, noting that Bo was still clinging on to her hand and how he had stiffened at Kuroo’s suggestion for her to call him by his first name.

After failing to agree on where to go to enjoy the night, Kuroo suggested seeing which set of best friends knew each other better. Kuroo clearly feeling that he and Kenma would have a landslide of a victory. Kenma shrugged since Kuroo took his gaming console and hid it which Kuroo and Bokuto took as agreeing. Bokuto was game for anything to show off his competitive side and to beat Kuroo.

The only issue was who would be Bokuto’s partner. Jess awkwardly stared between everyone not wanting to step on anyone’s toes.

“Bo, you can have Jess and Y/N. You’ll need all the help you can get.” Kuroo winked at Jess.

“It’s fine, I can sit this game out.” Jess said, holding her hands up. “I’ll pick the questions to ask.”

“Oh no, it’s fine.” You smiled at her, “I don’t mind seeing what you got.”

“Are we gonna have a cat fight?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow which gained a glare from you, an elbow to the ribcage from Kenma and Bo shaking his head.

“No. I just think it’d be fun. If I play, we’d smoke ya!” You teased Kuroo, sticking out your tongue.

“What do ya, Jess? Be my partner?” Bo smiled and you couldn’t help but see the way Jess’s face flushed as she nodded before moving to sit next to him.

You watched the two of them scoot closer to each other, Bo’s hand resting gently on her thigh as if that’s the most natural thing. Bo was a touchy person, you weren’t blind to that but it made you feel…jealous?

Once upon a time, during the first year you met Bokuto, you developed a crush on the two-toned haired boy. You thought that you had been obvious about it and had dropped hints, but Bo never seemed to reciprocate it or catch on. So, you moved on, leaving the idea in your first-year classroom.

“Y/N, ask the first question!” Kuroo shouted.

“Hold on, hold on.” You scrolled on a website until you found what you were looking for. “Okay, we’ll start with Team KuroKen: What’s your best friend’s favorite food?”

“Easy peasy! Apple pie!” Kuroo smirked, knowing he was right.

“Grilled Mackerel.” Kenma sighed, clearly uninterested.

“Correct!” You cheered. “Now for Team Bess.”

“Bess?” Jess scrunched up her face.

You shrugged, “All I could think of on short notice.”

“Cool name or not, we’re gonna win!” Bo wrapped his arm around Jess’s waist, pulling her tighter to him. “Jess’s favorite food is mashed potatoes.”

Jess grinned towards you, “And Bo’s is BBQ meat.”

“C’mon Y/N, give us a hard question!” Kuroo begged.

The four of them continued to answer question after question until both teams had a tied score of 20. You began to smirk to yourself when you found the perfect question. It wasn’t that you didn’t like Jess, she seemed nice enough, but Bokuto had been your best friend for years and you didn’t like the fact that someone thought that six months was long enough to act like they knew Bo.

“Here we go, perfect question.” You winked at Jess, “What was the last movie your best friend watched?”

Team KuroKen quickly answered and a confident Kuroo started gloating about how they already won.

“Bo last watched Coco!” Jess exclaimed.

“Actually, it was (your favorite movie) a few weeks ago when I was upset.” You shrugged with a smirk on your face. Jess got up, excusing herself to go to the bathroom.

“WE WON!” Kuroo shouted before teasing Bokuto that maybe he’d have better luck next time.

“Kuroo, calm down.” Kenma sighed.

“No, Y/N, it was Coco.” Bo stood up, shaking his head, “We watched it together a few nights ago.”

“Well,” you stammered, crossing your arms. “How was I supposed to know?”

“You could’ve waited until I answered.” He let out a deep breath.

“That doesn’t make her your best friend.” You all but shouted.

“I can have more than one best friend.” Bo started walking towards the bathroom to find Jess. “You do, you have Youta, right? Why can’t I have Jess?”

Kuroo let out a low, awkward whistle before Kenma shook his head, heading into the kitchen.

“Youta is my husband. Jess is just…Jess. You’ve known her less than a year.”

“But you always said you’d marry your best friend. And so what? Jess is important to me, that should be enough for you to accept her.”

He walked down the hall, knocking on the bathroom door before gently opening it. He found Jess sitting on the side of the tub, tears in her eyes. Bo kneeled in front of her, pulling her into his arms, apologizing.

“Guess I should’ve just picked the questions, huh?” She laughed and a small sob mixed with it.

Bo started to laugh, “You’re something else, you know that?”


	3. what are friends for?

April 2025

Bokuto is bouncing around as he waits in the lobby at the airport. For the twentieth time in three minutes, he pulls out his phone to check the time. Of course, he had gotten to the airport earlier than he needed to, but these last two months were the longest in his life. No amount of phone calls, video chats, or text messages could compare to having Seiko there with him. It was like his life felt empty without her, an emptiness that he hadn’t felt since the day he found out he was going to be a dad.

* *  
July 2019

She jumped on Bo’s back, laughter ringing in his ears as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried her back to his apartment after spending the afternoon down at Osaka Bay; visiting the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan and ending the day at the Tempozan Ferris Wheel. The day was spent with fingers interlocked, heads resting on other’s shoulders and enough laughter to brighten anyone’s day. Jess made them take pictures at every booth, saying they both needed copies to remember the day; they were stuffed in the back pocket of her jeans.

Moving to Japan was the first big decision Jess had ever made without backing out. Her parents tried to dissuade her from moving so far, telling her that just changing cities would suffice; she knew it wouldn’t. Mark seemed to find his way to wherever she was, but she knew she was safe at her current distance. Plus she had Bo now and she couldn’t imagine not having him in her life.

He tapped the sides of her thighs telling her to jump off his back so he could grab his keys. She hopped off, leaning against the wall by his door. It was still a shock to her that the two of you had become so close in just nine months. It had taken her longer than that to get close to Mark, but then again there were totally different reasons with that.

Jess followed him into his one-bedroom apartment, slipping off her shoes before sitting on the couch. He excused himself to his room to quickly change; he opted to wear jeans while went out but he hates jeans. He threw on some sweatpants and a MSBY t-shirt. He smiled when he saw Jess, slightly curled up on the couch with the blanket she bought him draped across her.

Bo loved how comfortable Jess was at his place and he at hers. She looked like a natural being by his side and maybe if things had been different, if he had somehow gotten closure with you, maybe he could’ve tried with Jess. Given her a fighting chance if anything more than platonic ever arose between them. Bokuto’s own hesitation came from not waiting to even try to compete with Mark and he could almost guarantee that Jess felt the same about you.

The thought left him with a sinking feeling in his stomach, how many great individuals would end up right in front of him for him to turn away because of you? You, the love of his life. The married love of his life. Sometimes it hurt to see those around him in great relationships, having families of their own while he still held on to imaginary hope that you might be his one day.

He talked to Akaashi about it, who asked him if being just your friend was worse than potentially losing you and of course Bo frantically told him he’d stay friends forever if it meant having you in his life. He knew the former setter was sincere, after all he had been around for most of Bo’s one-sided relationship and had even been the one to encourage him to at least try back in high school.

“Wh—no!” Jess let out a sound that mixed together a gasp and a sob. He watched her pull her knees up under her chin and her body start to shake. Bo practically ran over to her, banging his knee against the coffee table in the process.

“Jess! Jess!” He sat next to her wanting to pull her into him, but something about the way she looked told him not to. He watched her chest begin to rise and fall rapidly as she choked out sobs while trying to catch her breath.

Bokuto kneeled down in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders to try to stop her trembling. He felt helpless, what could he do? How could he help? Something was hurting her, someone he cared about more than himself and he was at a loss. What felt like forever passed and Jess finally looked up to him.

“Mar…married!” She let out another sob, turning her phone so Bo could see it; it was a picture of a tall blonde man in a suite with a woman who looked very similar to Jess next to him in a white dress.

He knew the feeling that Jess felt right now; that soul crushing agony. The massive weight being dropped on you, making you feel even more inadequate than you had been. At least you married someone who looked opposite of Bo, Mark practically married Jess’s twin. He remembered feeling empty when he got your wedding invitation; crashing at Akaashi’s because his empty apartment felt like it would swallow him whole if he was there alone.

“I’m so so sorry, Jess.” He climbed up on the couch beside her, pulled her into arms and after a few moments of resisting, she let herself relax in his arms. His thumb rubbed circles on her back and he gently rocked her back and forth. He wasn’t even sure this was helping, but he didn’t know what else to do.

A few minutes passed in silence before she looked up at him, her green eyes lined with tears and her face red and blotchy. Her expression was completely broken, like a porcelain doll that had been dropped and cracked from the impact. Bokuto used to think the day he watched you get married had truly broken his heart, the day that he knew he’d never have a chance to confess his feelings, but in this moment seeing someone as lovely and pure as Jess this way; today was the day his heart actually broke.

“He wasn’t ready for a relationship but he was ready to get married. Heh.” Jess let out a humorless laugh as she wiped the tears off her cheeks.

“You’re too good for him, Jess.” Bo placed his hands on her cheeks, looking into her eyes. “I mean it, that woman couldn’t hold a candle to you in any way.”

Jess felt her cheeks heating up underneath Bo’s touch and she offered him a small smile. Part of her wondered if he had felt this destroyed and fragile when you got engaged, got married and he had to watch. How selfish could people be? Jess wanted to believe that you were ignorant to Bo’s feelings, but she found that hard to believe with how straightforward he could be. Her eyesight was still blurry from her tears and her head was throbbing, but she wasn’t completely unaware of what her next move was.

In a blur, Jess’s lips crashed into Bo’s unsuspected lips. He was stunned at first, it wasn’t like he’d never kissed anyone before but certainly not Jess. When she pulled away, Bo thought his heart had stopped, she was looking at him, biting her bottom lip.

“Jess, you’re upset.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want…I’d hate for you to do something you’d regret or that would hurt you.”

“Bo.” She looked at him, her eyes pleading with him; begging him for a closeness only he could give her in this moment. Fresh tears filled her eyes, “Please.”

It took three heartbeats for him to react to her words. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her onto his lap, his lips pressing into hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his tongue slipped between her lips causing her to deepen the kiss.

The smell of sandalwood washed over her as peonies and vanilla filled Bo’s senses. He pulled away just long enough to place his lips on her jaw before kissing along her jawline, traveling down her neck. She stopped breathing, shuddering against his chest as a knot tightened in her lower stomach. She unwrapped her arms from his neck, intertwining her fingers in his hair and pulling it slightly.

He let out a hiss between his teeth, his breath danced across her shoulder. She trailed a hand down his chest, her fingers slipped under the bottom of his t-shirt. His skin heated up as her fingers ran across his firm abs, he pulled back from her. His eyes met hers and after she nodded, Bokuto swiftly stood up with her legs wrapped around him before carrying her down the hall; he kicked the bedroom door shut with his heel.

* *  
October 2019

Jess found herself having trouble lifting her hand to knock on the door. It’d been a year since she met Bokuto and he had become her best friend; maybe that’s why this was so hard. There’s an uneasy feeling in her stomach, a lump in her throat as she let out another deep breath. She could do this, she was an adult and adults face their problems head on. Suddenly though, Jess doesn’t want to be an adult and part of her wants to go back to being five years old when her biggest problem was which crayon to use.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Before the door opened, Jess chickened out and started walking back towards the staircase. She couldn’t do this, she’d come back and tell him another day.

“Jess?”

She squeezed her eyes shut breathing harshly out of her nose. When she turned around, she saw a confused Bo; her heart sank. How could she do this? She couldn’t and of course the one time she hoped he wouldn’t be home, he was.

She heard him call out for her again before she turned around. She walked slowly over to him then headed into his apartment. He immediately picked up on her demeanor, offering her various snacks and drinks; trying to make her comfortable.

She mumbled something causing Bo to kneel in front of her, asking her to repeat herself. Her green eyes met his golden ones and she knew this was it. That once she said it out loud, once he learned of her secret, everything would permanently change.

“I’m pregnant.” She bit her bottom lip, a wave of nausea hitting her and it wasn’t from the baby.

Bokuto, over time, had become slightly predictable to Jess. He was loud and tended to invade one’s personal space without warning and that’s the Bo Jess knew well. But this Bo, the one who was silent, who had scooted back from her and had a blank expression on his face was new to Jess.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” The huge smile that appeared on his face threw her for a loop. “This is the greatest news anyone’s ever told me.”

“You aren’t mad?”

“Mad? Why would I be mad?” He jumped to his feet, fingers running through his hair, with the same huge smile plastered on his face. “I’m gonna be a dad!”

Jess felt herself laugh, the anxiety, fear, dread all disappeared and left her wondering why she was even worried to begin with. This was Bo after all and if she could do this with anyone it would be Bo.

“You’re gonna be a dad, Bo.”

“And you, a mom.”

She gasped as Bo scooped her off the couch, spinning her around. He quickly sat her feet to the ground before she saw him drop to one knee. “Jess, marry me.”

“I’m sorry, what?” She grabbed his hands. “Stand up.”

“I mean it Jess. Marry me.” He shook his head, “I know this isn’t proper, but I love you and want to do what’s right for you and the baby.”

She smiled at her favorite person, squatting down to be eye level with him. “Bo, I love you and love that you’d offer, but we don’t love each other in that way.”

“But we could try.” A pout covered his face, hair slightly deflated.

She shook her head, “You know it doesn’t work that way. I don’t love you in the way I love Mark and you don’t love me like you love Y/N. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

He pulled her into his chest, “I just don’t want to mess anything up, I don’t want to lose you either.”

“Lose me? Sir you are stuck with me forever now.” She felt him laugh against her shoulder. “We’ll figure things out as we go, I promise.”

“I’m gonna be a dad.” Tears fell down his face, a new type of happiness washed over him. “I have to call Akaashi.”

* *  
April 2025

The loud sound of the airport intercom brings Bokuto back to the present, looking up and his eyes land on Jess. He smiles when his eyes land on the little brunette who is proudly pulling her suitcase behind her. Bo squats down when the pair of them get closer to him, his face twists into confusion when Seiko stops walking.

She passes her suitcase handle to Jess before throwing her arms opening, “HEY! HEY! HEY!”

Bo’s face lights up as she rushes into his arms; he wraps his arms around her, picking her up, and spinning her around. He kisses her forehead, squeezing her tightly until she burst into a fit of giggles, trying to make up for the last two months. Jess smiles at the display, watching the two of them together was Jess’s favorite sight.

“Was that your idea?” Bo says to Jess, readjusting Seiko to rest on his left hip as his right-hand grabs Jess’ suitcase.

Jess just smirks as they walk out of the airport. Seiko’s arms wrapped tightly around his neck, unwilling to let go of her dad. Seiko loves her mom, she enjoyed spending time with her and her grandparents in California, but Seiko is a daddy’s girl.

**  
Seiko has all of her gifts on the coffee table, Bo looks at Jess who just holds her hands up in defense. Seiko is extremely hard to say no to, at least for Jess, Bo on the other hand claims to have invented the pouty look so he’s immune to Seiko’s antics.

“These are for Haruki! I got him a book about California, this tie-dye shirt and these gross jelly beans!”

“Gross jelly beans?” Bo looks directly at Jess who is laughing.

“They are odd flavored; booger, dog food, and others.”

“Anyways!” Seiko shouts, “I got Uncle ‘Kaashi this fancy pen and Misaki a matching tie-dye shirt to mine!”

“I’m sure they will love them!” Bo says excitedly, he leans back in his chair, welcoming the noise that fills his apartment; he’s missed it.

Seiko grabs a wrapped box she’s been hiding, handing it to Bo. “This is for you Daddy.”

Bo eagerly takes the box and unwraps it, Seiko is bouncing up and down as he starts to open it.

“Do you like your shirt, Daddy?” She beams at him, her eyes wide like a kid on Christmas morning.

Bo raises an eyebrow and Seiko immediately slaps her hand over her mouth. He smiles at her before removing the tissue paper and pulling out the shirt Seiko just told him about. He holds up a light blue shirt that has an owl with the words ‘papa owl’ underneath it.

“I love it!” He watches Seiko hold up her finger before running to her room.

“She’s really excited about this.” Jess says to him, sipping her tea.

Seiko comes rushing back into the living room, having changed her shirt to a matching one to Bo’s with the words ‘baby Owl’ on hers. “They match Daddy!”

“They sure do!”

“And this is yours too!” She hands him a small gift bag, but this time she acts shy about it. Bo pulls her into his lap and opens it. It’s a keychain with a picture of her on it, she holds up one of that has a picture of Jess on one side and him on the other. “For when you have a game away from home. So you don’t forget me.”

He wraps her into a hug, “I couldn’t forget about you even if I tried.”

* *  
October 2025

“Coming! Coming!” Bo shouts at the frantic knocking on his door, he looks at the clock on the wall: 10:15PM.

“I know it’s late. I should’ve called.” You start talking a mile a minute as soon as the door opens, your son leaning against your leg half asleep. “Can you watch Ruki?”

He blinks a few times, trying to wake up himself. “Yeah, sure, come in.”

You and Haruki enter into his apartment; Seiko comes around the corner, the noise having woke her up; tightly clinging to her favorite blanket. Seiko drags her feet towards Haruki, she takes his hand and they both walk over the couch. He rests his head on the arm of the couch as Seiko drapes her blanket over him.

“What’s going on?” Bo asks, still looking at you in confusion, reaching out to put a comforting hand on your arm.

You look around before stepping closer to Bo, leaning in to whisper in his ear. “Youta came home late, drunk, and yelling. I’d just rather Haruki not be around for that.”

Bo’s jaw clenches, in all honesty he’s never thought Youta was good enough for you. Not because he has feelings for you, but if you had to be with someone else he’d at least want it to be someone who deserved you.

“Of course, he can stay here. Maybe you should stay too.” He shrugs, “at least until tomorrow.”

You shake your head, biting your bottom lip. “I think it’s best if I handle this now. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way back.”

“He can stay the night. I’m sure Seiko would love it.”

The two of you glance over at the couch, Seiko and Haruki huddled together, barely covered by Seiko’s baby blanket. It had been a gift from Akaashi, a simple blanket with owls on it and even as she gets older, the blanket follows her; Bo has to take it and wash it while she sleeps.

You look at him, nervously looking at the clock. “Are you sure? I’ll come back first thing in the morning so he doesn’t mess up any plans.”

He puts a hand on your shoulder. “Take your time. He’s fine here. I promise.”

“Thank you.” You wrap your arms around him, giving him a hug before placing a quick kiss on his cheek. Smiling up at him, you feel thankful for him, for everything that he’s been doing for you since the locker mix up; he truly is your best friend.

“No worries. That’s what family does, right?”

You nod at him as you quickly rush over, placing a kiss on Haruki’s forehead before leaving. Bo lets out a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair before heading down the hall. He grabs the extra futon from the hall closet, setting it up in Seiko’s room. Going back to the living room, he scoops up Seiko first, tucking her into her bed, but when he heads back into the living room, Haruki is sitting up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.’

“Uncle Bo?”

“Yeah buddy?” He stretches his arms out for Haruki to climb into them so he could carry him. He rests his head on Bo’s shoulder, his voice lagging from the sleep setting back in.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything, what’s up?” Haruki climbs onto the futon, Bo pulling the blanket up.

“What’s a divorce?”


	4. I'll always be here

June 2017

Three years. You’d been dating Nakajima Youta for three years. You met him your second year of college, he started out as the annoying classmate who always felt the need to challenge your answers. Slowly, like snail pace slow, he became someone who you looked forward to engaging with because it helped broaden your opinions and eventually you were able to render arguments that even he had to stand down from.

Eventually your paths diverged due to your different majors and after several surprise run ins, he managed to get you to agree to going out to coffee which led to having lunch, and a few lunches later, you found yourself having dinner with Youta. The first year was picture perfect, blissfully nauseating to all those around you, perfect and you couldn’t have been happier. But then things stopped being great, they started to be rocky and you kept waiting for the ball to drop.

The ball did drop, shortly after your two-year anniversary when he was late to a dinner he asked you to. You waited for an hour before he showed up, some foreign perfume clinging to his haphazardly buttoned shirt. You weren’t sure what was worse the fact that he showed up like that or the fact that you actually sat through the meal afterwards. Things were estranged for weeks, you both awkwardly dancing around each other’s schedules since you lived together and didn’t have anywhere else to go.

That lasted for three months before you came home to see him waiting for you, begging for you to somehow forgive him. He told you how sorry he was, that it wasn’t what you thought and it didn’t mean anything. He told you about how miserable these last few months had been and how every time he wanted to say something, he was scared you were going to end things. But the idea that graduation was coming up and you could potentially go separate ways made him realize he needed to speak up now. So you sat next to him and talked everything out, deciding to stay together and seven months later, you both moved back to Tokyo.

Here you were sitting across from Youta in the same restaurant he had been late to last year, watching him nervously pick at the cloth napkin by his glass. The last time you’d seen him this nervous was back when he first asked you to coffee years ago.

“Y/N, I need to tell you something.”

You braced yourself, clearly timing wasn’t something Youta was good at, history had proven that. “Okay.”

“I got a job offer in Osaka.” He took a sip of his wine, hand shaking.

“Wow, congratulations. I’m proud of you.” You smiled, suddenly not feeling up for a dinner. Break ups were hard, a public break up would be devastating.

“I want you to come with me.” He stood up, walking over to your side of the table. You weren’t sure what he was doing, but then he got down on one knee with a box in his hand. The whole room went quiet and you could’ve sworn your heartbeat could be heard. “As my fiancé.”

You sat there, unsure if you had heard him right until you saw him open the small velvet box that held a small yet elegant emerald cut diamond on a thin simple band. You found yourself getting whiplash, trying to wrap your head around the fact it wasn’t a break up but a proposal. You always assumed that you’d have an idea that you were going to be proposed to, that the person who proposed would’ve dropped hints, and even if they didn’t, you never thought an engagement would occur within the same minute you had braced yourself for a break-up. With Youta things rarely went as you thought, maybe this should’ve been a sign.

“Will you?” He pulled the ring out of the box, pinching it between his thumb and index finger as he held it up to you, as some kind of offering and maybe that’s really what an engagement ring was, an offering for the start of a forever together. “Will you marry me?”

Your throat felt dry as you struggled to swallow the lump in your throat. It wasn’t that the thought never crossed your mind, that first year of your relationship you thought you could live like that forever and be content. Those days and thoughts had been long gone leaving you here caught off guard. But right there, in that moment, you didn’t notice the rose-colored tint everything had, you saw the man you loved telling you that he didn’t want a life without you, he didn’t want to move away and leave you behind.

You hadn’t noticed the tears that filled your eyes until one slipped down your cheek, Youta reached up to wipe it away, giving you a small smile. He let out a small sigh, wishing he had asked in a less public place, but he’d been waiting all week to ask you. He grabbed the table, going to pull himself up before you grabbed his arm.

“Of course, I will.”

“Oh thank God.” He pulled you into a hug, wrapping his arms around your neck, burying his face into the curve of your neck. He pulled back, pressing his lips to yours before smiling as he slipped the ring on your finger.

“It’s perfect!” You twisted and turned your hand, the stone catching the light.

“I know it’s not grand or anything, but I promise to get you a better one someday.”

You smiled. “But you picked this one out, I love it. I’ll wear it forever.”

* *  
Bo was sitting on the couch, flipping through some sports magazine Kuroo had left at his apartment. He had planned on asking if you wanted to come up to Osaka for the weekend to hang out and explore, but you told him you had anniversary plans with Youta. To be fair, Bo could be scatterbrained when it came to dates, but none that involved you so he knew it was your anniversary, he was just hoping that you’d pick him over Youta at least once. He also knew it was selfish of him to want that, you had made your choice and it wasn’t him so he should just move on, but he can’t.

He let out a sigh, getting ready to go to bed even though it was only 9:35pm. Atsumu had been busy doing something or another, Sakusa wouldn’t even entertain the idea of hanging out and Akaashi was all the way in Tokyo, so Bo was essentially alone. His phone started to ring and when he saw your name, he practically jumped up.

“Hey hey hey!” He exclaimed in the phone. For a brief moment, he was hoping you were calling to say you had changed your mind about visiting, for an even briefer one, he hoped you were calling to say you ended things with Youta.

“Bo!” His heart melted when he heard you say his name. “I have some news!”

You sounded happy, so his thoughts about a break-up weren’t looking good, but he stayed optimistic. “What’s up?”

“Youta proposed!” His heart sank. “I’m engaged!”

It was at that moment he was glad you opted for a regular call instead of a video call. He could feel his body language shift: shoulders dropped, lips turned downwards and he started to blink back tears.

“Bo?”

“Oh, hey! That’s great, Y/N. I’m happy for you!” He tried to mimic his usual and excited tone, hoping that you were too wrapped up in the night’s events to pick up on it; you were.

“Thank you! I knew you would be!” Your voice started to fade, you had turned to answer something Youta asked you. “I have to go, I need to tell my mom. Talk later?”

“Yeah. Talk later.” Bo heard the call end, his phone returning back to his lock screen. “I love you.”

He tossed his phone on the couch next to him, he suddenly felt overwhelmed, as if all the oxygen in the room was depleting but he struggled to breathe any in. He felt his chest cave in as he tried to breathe as deeply as he could before panic set in. Bo knew he had lost you back when you called him your second year of college and he heard the way you said Youta’s name; claiming that he annoyed you but Bo could hear the undertones in your voice, the ones that told him your thoughts often lingered on Youta. He knew he lost you when you called him excited about him finally asking you out.

He thought he had a chance when you called him asking if after graduation you could move in with him, telling him the story of your second anniversary dinner and how you and Youta avoided each other. He knew he lost you again tonight because while not all relationships last, engagements tended to and he knew not all engagements mean forever, but what kind of best friend would wish their best friend’s engagement to end?

The apartment felt cold and empty, an uncomfortable feeling that Bo couldn’t take any longer before heading into his room. He threw some clothes into a backpack before stuffing his phone in his pocket and locking the apartment as he left. Yeah it was late and he wasn’t too big a fan of bus rides, but he couldn’t stay there alone anymore and Akaashi would know exactly what to say.

* *  
November 2025

It has been a few weeks since you rushed to Bokuto’s apartment, all but begging him to babysit Haruki for the night. For the umpteenth time, Youta had come home drunk, pissed and wanting to fight. Most of the time he’d come home like that after Haruki had gone to sleep but that night he seemed to run into everything, waking the sleeping five-year-old.

You weren’t really sure what to do anymore, saying something to Youta about his late-night escapades always led to a fight and not saying something just left the possibilities for things to get worse. But you hadn’t prepared yourself for this, for things to get this way, to end up where you and a random person on the street had more to talk about than you did with your husband. What bothered you most of all is that you just can’t think about yourself, you have Haruki to think about, he’s the one that matters most.

If you were going to be honest with yourself, you had put up with Youta’s incessant behaviors were because Haruki deserved to have a stable family setting. Giving Haruki a two-parent household was something that you wanted since the day you found out you were going to have a child. You know it’s possible to do it, to raise Haruki on your own. You’ve watched Bo and Jess raise Seiko from opposite ends of the globe and she’s a very loved and happy girl, you even watched Lya raise Misaki on her own and do an amazing job, but you don’t feel you are as strong as they are.

“Have you been waiting long? I’m sorry, I had a last-minute thing at work.” Lya apologies as she sprints over to the bench you’re sitting on.

You wave your hand back and forth. “No worries, it was nice to have some time to just think.”

Lya raises an eyebrow but doesn’t comment, instead opting for the two of you to get started on the errands you met up to do. Misaki’s birthday is in a few weeks and Lya had asked if you’d meet up with her to pick up a few things for the party. You welcomed the trip to Tokyo and luckily for you, Youta couldn’t get away from work so you and Haruki were staying with your parents.

“What’s first on our list?” You look over at Lya who seems deep in thought.

“The cake, there’s a new bakery around here I want to try.”

The walk to the bakery is quiet, both of you seem to be in your own thoughts. It’s not like you aren’t good friends, in fact the two of you were rather close since Akaashi spends a lot of time with her and you met Akaashi through Bokuto back in high school. When it came to Lya, you often felt comfortable to just be together in silence, she had that effect on people.

It’s the ringing of the welcome bell of the bakery door that draws you from your thoughts. You pick out a small table as Lya walks to the counter, asking if they do tastings. She returns with a smile on her face, exclaiming they’re going to bring a few samples.

“I’m beginning to think you just wanted to try free cake.” You laugh as she just smirks and winks at you.

“What’s new with you? How’s Haruki been doing?”

“Same old at the Nakajima household,” you give her a strained smile as you place an order for an iced coffee. “Haruki’s been dying to play volleyball, Bokuto lets him tag along to practices if he can’t find a sitter for Seiko.”

“How is she doing? I don’t think I’ve seen her since right after her trip to America when she brought over Misaki’s gift.” You both thank the waitress when she returns with the cake samples and drinks.

“She’s doing great. She talked about her trip for like two weeks.” You laugh, thinking back to Bo’s exhausted expression from hearing the same stories for the hundredth time when they came to your house to give Haruki’s his gifts.

“Oh, I bet. When Seiko first got home, her and Misaki spent hours talking on the phone one night. I swear that girl can talk, must get it from Bokuto.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind.” You smile, taking a bite of the chocolate cake.

“Woah.” Lya’s eyes widen as she looks at your hand and you feel yourself get a little embarrassed. “What’s that?”

You look down at your left ring finger, the ring sitting there is far from the ring Youta proposed with eight years ago. That ring you had loved, just picturing a nervous Youta standing at a glass counter trying to find one was always a sweet image, but this one didn’t have a sweet image to it.

Technically it’s the third ring you’ve gotten, second since your original engagement ring. The first ‘upgrade’ came after Haruki was born, Youta claiming that you had gotten too busy for him and the texts you found were just from some female coworker. This one, the second one, you had gotten just a few months ago in July when you found one of his dress shirts balled up, lipstick and perfume on it that didn’t belong to you.

“It was an early anniversary gift from Youta.” Your eyes don’t meet hers when you look up from your hand.

“Anniversary gift?” She snorts, rolling her eyes, “more like an ‘I’m a piece of shit’ gift.”

“Lya…”

“Don’t Lya me, it’s true. He doesn’t deserve you, you and Haruki deserve better.”

“I know.” Your voice is low as you chew on the inside of your cheek. “It’s just I want what’s best for Haruki and two parents…”

She cuts you off. “Two parents what? Kids just need happy parents and you aren’t happy with Youta, not anymore. Misaki is doing great without Eiji in the picture.”

“Yeah, but you have Akaashi.”

You watch her stumble over her words before she looks away bashfully. It’s painfully obvious that both her and Akaashi have feelings for each other, well to everyone but them.

“Like you don’t have Bo? Akaashi? Me?” She rolls her eyes again.

You push the piece of cake on your plate around, she has a point and you couldn’t deny it. Even without Youta, you and Haruki would have a support system whether it be in Osaka or Tokyo, but you hadn’t done anything without Youta in almost 12 years. How do you just stop relying on someone after all those years?

Lya reaches across the table, placing a hand on yours, your eyes meet hers. “All I’m saying is you don’t have to be afraid because you have so many people who have your back.”

You smile her, “I know. Thank you.”

“So should I add get divorce papers to my errands list for today?”

“Lya!”

“I’m serious. We have time.”

* *  
December 24, 2025

“Are you sure about this? Haruki doesn’t have to go, it’s fine.”

“Y/N, it’s okay. I already have the tickets and Akaashi is excited to see Haruki too.” Bo shakes his head as he walks down the hall to Seiko’s room, grabbing her suitcase.

“I know, but two kids can be a handful Bo. I can just bring Haruki in the morning.”

Bo gently grabs the sides of your face, squishing your cheeks together, he used to do it back in high school whenever you’d start rambling about something you were worried about like a test, one of his games, etc. You scrunch your forehead trying to look mad, but failing.

“It’s fine, Y/N. He’s already here and Seiko is excited about having a big sleepover. You’ve been outvoted.” He winks as he lets go of your face, heading back down the hall to get his bag to place with the other two.

You huff, crossing your arms in front of you. The original plan was for the four of you to go to Tokyo together on the bullet train, but instead you and Haruki were going to stay at your parents. That was until Youta randomly decided to have an issue with the arrangement and threw a fit for whatever reason. 

“The party isn’t until 1pm, so I should be there around 11am. Are you sure he won’t be too much?” While you weren’t happy about the change of plans, you were looking forward to having the house childfree so you and Youta could finally talk.

“Seiko,” Bo turns to his daughter, “tell Y/N that we’ll be fine. I have everything under control.”

“Uncle ‘Kaashi will make sure Dad behaves.”

“Seiko!” Bo sighs defeatedly, shaking his head as you and his daughter laugh.

“Well I guess I’ll see you all tomorrow then.” You squat down, opening your arms for Haruki who runs into you.

“Bye Mom.” He squeezes you tightly and for a moment you don’t want to let go.

“You behave for Uncle Bo and Uncle Akaashi okay?” You kiss his forehead when he pulls back and he wrinkles his nose.

“I promise!” He smiles up at up and you feel your heart swell. If you had to name the one thing you were proudest of in life, it’d have to be your son, he really did come into your life when you needed him most.

“Have a safe trip then. Call me when you get there?” You look at Bo, “I know you haven’t seen Akaashi in a while, but don’t get too excited you forget to call.”

Bo gasps, looking at you with his mouth wide open. “I am offended. And Seiko will remind me if I do.”

* *  
December 25, 2025

“Happy birthday, Saki-chan!” Seiko shouts, running over to the young girl as she tackles into her for a hug. The two little girls both fall to the floor with a loud thump, leaving Haruki to just shake his head. Out of the three of them, Seiko is the most chaotic, truly taking after her father in that aspect whereas Haruki and Misaki are more reserved.

Lya often jokes that Seiko would be the one to get the group in trouble whereas Misaki would be the one to get them out of trouble, but Bokuto loves that Seiko is so energetic. He was worried when she was born that they wouldn’t have anything in common, that he’d fail as a dad, but that wasn’t the case especially since they both seemed to get in trouble together constantly.

“Seiko, careful.” Bokuto lets out a sigh, he may love her hectic ways, but even Bo knew when to draw the line. He walks over, extending both arms for the two girls to grab so he can pull them up.

“Sorry Saki-chan.” Seiko looks at the ground, her lip poked out.

“It’s okay Sei-chan. I know you were just excited.” Misaki wraps her arms around her pouting friend, quickly cheering her up.

“Hey Hakkun.” Misaki smiles over at Haruki who instantly turns red and looks away before mumbling back a greeting, slowly backing behind Bo.

Haruki has met Misaki multiple times, but for some reason he got super bashful when she singles him out. Bokuto finds it humorous since when they interact as a group, he’s fine and the fact that he’s always around Seiko, most would think he’d be fine around a girl. You chalk it up that he just gets nervous because she’s two years older than him.

“Daddy, can we go outside?” Seiko tugs on Bo’s shirt.

“You have to wear your coat.”

“But…” She pokes out her bottom lip again, looking up at him with big pleading eyes.

“That doesn’t work on me, I invented that face.” He ruffled her hair before walking over towards Akaashi.

Haruki just shakes his head, “told you it wouldn’t work.” He hands Seiko her coat before the three of them head outside to find the other kids.

“Where’s Y/N?” Akaashi looks over his shoulder at Bo who just walked into the kitchen.

“She texted me a bit ago and said something came up with Youta and if Haruki got to be too much I could drop him off at her parents’ house.”

Bo can tell that Akaashi is trying his hardest to hold back what he really wants to say.

“Haruki’s outside, if you have something to say Akaashi.”

“I just don’t see why Y/N puts up with him. She could do some much better and Haruki needs an actual man to help raise him.” Akaashi lets out a deep breath before turning around to face Bo, “you know things would be different if you had told her how you felt.”

Bokuto clears his throat, cheeks turning red. He knows Akaashi is right, it’s not like he hadn’t tried to confess back in high school, but he couldn’t think like that now. Not when he had Seiko because he wouldn’t change anything in his life, though that didn’t stop him from feeling like it was somehow his fault that you and Haruki are in such a bad situation.

* *  
Your leaning against the doorway that leads from the living room to the hallway, arms crossed and lips pursed. You had been getting ready to leave to head to Tokyo when Youta decided that you needed to stay home so you both could talk, but instead of talking the two of you mostly been yelling.

“Texting Bo again?” He rolls his eyes, clearly irritated.

“He has our son, Youta. I’m making sure he’s okay.”

“And why is that? He’s my son.”

“Because you didn’t want to go to the birthday party.” Your son who you don’t even really know.

“I had to work, Y/N.”

You really want to point out that he is in fact sitting on the couch in your house in workout clothing, but decide giving him a once over should properly present your point. It does, he quickly mutters under his breath that he was working from home today.

“You always have to work.” You say just loud enough that Youta hears you as you walk through the room and into the kitchen.

“I don’t see you offering to work.” You hear him walk into the kitchen, opening the fridge that’s behind you.

You want to tell him that it was his idea for you to quit working. You had to when you made the move from Tokyo to Osaka, your job didn’t have a branch in Osaka. Then you go married and Youta had wanted to start a family as soon as possible and he didn’t want you to worry about work. Then you got pregnant and he wanted you to stay at home, but it was true that as the years went by you didn’t think of working. However, with the idea of divorce hanging over your head, the idea had been weighing on you which scared you. It’d been years since you had worked, years since you had to do an interview, since you’d have to worry about where money would come from.

Maybe it had been a mixture of the anger you had been bottling up and the fear you had about potentially ending your marriage, but as soon as the next sentence left your mouth, you knew the day would be spent fighting.

“Maybe I will get a job, then when I get text messages all hours of the night from male coworkers, I can tell you what you tell me: they’re just friends.”

* *  
“Do you like it Saki-chan?” Seiko looks at her best friend after watching her open her birthday gift.

Misaki smiles at Seiko. Seiko could be loud and energetic, she could come off as carefree and confident sometimes just like her dad, but she was a lot like her mom where sometimes she’d second-guess choices.

“I love it, Sei-chan!” She holds up the paperback book with a huge smile on her face, “I needed this to finish the series!”

Seiko perks up, a huge smile on her own face as well before sliding Haruki’s gift over to Misaki. “This is from Hakkun! He picked it out himself.”

“Seiko!” Haruki’s cheeks redden, trying to hide his face behind Seiko.

Misaki’s eyes widen after she pulls out the gift from the bag: a volleyball. “I LOVE IT!”

Bo, Akaashi and Lya all look over when they hear Haruki yell, Misaki having tackled him into a hug while Seiko sat and giggled.

“I think Seiko is rubbing off on Misaki.” Akaashi laughs, smiling as the birthday girl runs over to him.

“Uncle Keiji, look!” She holds the volleyball up towards him.

He takes the ball, inspecting it while Misaki holds her breath. Lya had recently told you that Misaki was getting interested in volleyball herself and when you learned Seiko opted to get her a book, you knew the ball would be the perfect gift from Haruki.

“I think you owe Haruki and his mother a very big thank you. This is a great gift.” He pats the young girl’s head as she throws her arms around his legs before she runs back to her friends.

“That sounded very fatherly of you, Akaashi.” Bo teases his friend who turns red from the words.

“I had years of practice with you, Bokuto-san.”

“AGAASHI!” Bo shouts as Akaashi shakes his head laughing, walking back towards the kitchen to get the cake.

* *  
“Thank you for carrying the bags, Haruki.” Bo smiles at the young boy, shifting Seiko on his hip to grab his keys. The three were walking up the stairs to get to his apartment, they ended up taking a later train, arriving back to Osaka a bit later.

“Of course, Uncle Bo! Mom says big boys help!” He smiles sleepily at Bo.

They make it up the last few steps before Bo stops. Haruki drops the bags running over towards the apartment door.

“Mom! Mom!” He calls out while he dashes over to the figure sitting in the hallway.

You look up, eyes red and puffy, mustering up the best fake smile that you can for your son. Haruki throws his arms around your legs as you push yourself off the floor, leaning down to kiss him on the top of his head.

Bo opens the apartment door, ushering everyone in before turning to you, worry covering his expression.

“I tried to call, you weren’t picking up.” Tears pool in your eyes, your voice trembling.

“My phone died. What about your key?”

“I left it at home. I’m sorry for showing up like this.”

“Let me get the kids in bed, then we’ll talk. Okay?”

You nod, fearing that if you spoke you’d start sobbing again. You give him a small smile when he kisses your forehead, Haruki grabbing his hand.

“Night night, Mom!”

**  
You’re sitting on the couch, cup of tea in your hand, the palms of your hands red from the heat. Twenty minutes had gone by since Bo came back from putting Seiko and Haruki to bed; he made you a cup of tea and was patiently waiting for you to start talking.

Bo knows that something is off, he can tell by the way you cling to the mug in your hands, the way you’re biting your bottom lip and the fact you left half of your things at home. You didn’t forget things, if anything you were always the one most prepared between the two of you. It was you that would remind him to grab his extra volleyball gear because his mother was washing the rest, you’d remind him which text book to grab when his schedule changed and you shocked him by how you remembered everything you’d need on top of all the baby stuff Haruki needed whenever you left the house.

Yet here you were, no purse, you grabbed the wrong set of keys by the door meaning you only had your spare car key, and even though it was pretty chilly outside you only had on a thin sweater. To Bo, you look broken which scares him because he’d never seen you look this upset, even after your breakups in high school, you never looked this distraught.

It hurt you to look at Bo, the gentle and comforting expression on his face made you want to throw yourself into his arms. It made you want to let him pick up the pieces of your life once again, just like he had done in high school without you even asking because that’s who Bo was. He was the guy would do everything that he could for someone asking nothing in return. His loudness is often viewed as him being immature and childish, someone that can’t be taken seriously, but you know that’s not the case. Bokuto might not always act like the most rational person, but he is and always has been the guy who shows up when you need him.

“Youta and I,” you pause, your stomach dropping because once you said it aloud, there was no going back, “we’re getting a divorce.”

Bokuto looks at you with an almost knowing expression, like he wasn’t surprised at all with this revelation and you couldn’t help but wonder if Lya had mentioned anything to Akaashi. Not that it would be a bad thing, honestly the fewer people you had to tell the better because just the thought of having to tell your parents had you anxious enough.

For the next hour you tell him about the last eight years, how Youta went from loving and doting to sleeping around. How it started after you had Haruki and that the most recent indiscretion you knew about was just months ago. You watched as his lips tightened together, eyes flickering with rage as he shook his leg up and down. You mentioned how scared you were about starting over without him, that he was a huge part of your life and how you worried about Haruki, not wanting him to blame himself.

Bokuto shook his head which worried you. Would he tell you that you were being dramatic? Would he tell you that he couldn’t keep picking up your pieces? But his words washed away all doubt, bringing the slightest smile to your lips.

“Whatever you and Haruki need, I’ll be there.”


	5. let the schemes begin

January 5, 2026

Jess watches her daughter through her laptop screen, the little girl has been quiet for about five minutes and she looks worried which makes her mother want to reach through the screen and comfort her.

“Seiko, baby, what’s bothering you?”

She sighs, swinging her feet back and forth. Ever since Misaki’s birthday something’s been on her mind, but she’s been too afraid to ask her dad or her mom. Usually Seiko would just say what was on her mind, ask whatever questions she had that popped into her head, but this was different, her dad and Y/N whispered when they talked and stopped when her or Haruki came into the room. 

“Nothing, Mama.”

“It makes Mama sad when you’re upset.” Jess pokes out her bottom lip which gets a giggle from Seiko.

“Daddy said he made that face up!”

“Oh, he did? That sounds like Daddy.”

Seiko smiles a little, “can I ask you something, Mommy?”

Her sweet and low tone melts Jess’ heart as she gives her daughter a smile. “Of course baby girl.”

“What’s a divorce?”

Jess sucks in a quick breath, trying to decide how best to approach it while also curious as to where the subject even came up. 

“Well, it’s when a mom and dad stop living together.”

“Why?”

“Sometimes it’s because they may be fighting a lot.”

“Why?”

“Because sometimes people stop getting along.”

“Oh.” Seiko starts wringing her hands again. “I heard Haruki ask Daddy about it. Does that mean they don’t love him anymore?”

“No baby. Y/N and Youta love Haruki very much, just like Mommy and Daddy love you. Divorce is a grownup thing, but it has nothing to do with Haruki.”

Her golden eyes start shining, filling with tears. “Promise, Mama? I don’t like Haruki sad.”

“I promise. Can you go get Daddy?”

Seiko bounces out of the chair, quickly returning to her usual energetic self as she runs out of the room, shouting for her dad. Jess laughs when Bo walks into the room, carrying their daughter upside down as she squeals.

“Daddy put me down!”

“If you say so.” He acts like he’s going to drop her which only makes her start to squeal louder before he finally sits her down on the floor.

“Mommy wants you. I think you’re in trouble.”

Bo looks directly at Jess with a puzzled expression before she shakes her head. Seiko giggles before running up to the laptop.

“Bye Mommy!” She leans forwards, kissing the screen. “I love you!”

“I love you too baby girl! I’ll talk to you tomorrow!” She waves as Seiko runs into her room, leaving her parents alone.

“You look radiant as ever, Jess.”

She blushes, “you, as handsome as ever Bo.”

“Seiko said I was in trouble.”

“You are. How dare you not tell me about Y/N and Youta’s divorce.” She shakes her head, quickly checking her phone after it pings, Bo catches the way she bites her lip as she smiles at whatever she’s reading. 

“I didn’t know you were so invested in their marriage.”

“I’m not, but I am invested in the happiness of my baby daddy.” She smiles wide, knowing Bo doesn’t really care for that term, that it makes him feel cheap, but she can’t let a teasing moment pass them by

“I’m not happy about it.”

“Maybe not directly, but it does leave Y/N open for new ventures. New possibilities. New relationship with an old friend, perhaps?”

“Jess! The papers aren’t even signed.” It wasn’t like the thought hadn’t briefly, very briefly, crossed his mind. A chance to finally tell you how he felt, but just like back in high school, the timing was all wrong.

She repeats what he said, mocking him which makes him roll his eyes. “Well either you can tell her or I will.”

“You wouldn’t.” Bo narrows his eyes at her and she mimics the expression.

“Do you really want to test that theory?” 

There’s no doubt in Bo’s mind that Jess would actually do it which slightly worries him. He knows her better than himself most days and that she only has the purest intentions when it comes to him, it was something that he saw a lot in Seiko too. Even if there was a chance for him, he knows he has to tread lightly since it’s not just you he has to worry about but also Haruki and somewhere in there Youta counts too.

“Just promise me you won’t wait forever?” She tilts her head with a soft smile on her face. It’s the same one Seiko makes when she first wakes up and Bo feels a tug on his heart. “Even the knight deserves happiness in the fairy tales.”

“I promise. Just want to make sure the timing’s right.” 

* *  
Mid-April – 2010

Bokuto had realized his feelings for you on a seemingly random day after the first volleyball practice of your second year. He was thrilled when he heard that a first year named Akaashi Keiji was a setter, but the first person that he wanted to tell wasn’t there: you.

He had a few crushes before this, but he could tell this time it was different. The only downside to this realization was that now he found himself nervous to be around you alone. Before it didn’t bother him to sit next to you, shoulders brushing against each other’s, but now he opted for a seat across from you and if he had to sit next to you, his face was red the whole time. Then came the struggle between telling you or not telling you, both sides had a plus and negative.

Telling you meant you had the chance to share his feelings.

Not telling you meant he could keep you as a friend.

Telling you meant you could reject his feelings.

Not telling you meant you two would only be friends.

And of course, the one person who Bo would normally go to when he needed serious advice was you, but you were the one person who couldn’t help him with this one. 

**  
“Yukippe!” He called out to the second-year manager at the end of practice.

“Ko-chan!” She smiled as she turned to face him. She raised an eyebrow at his demeanor, he was chewing the inside of his cheek while nervously shifting weight between his feet. 

“Can I ask you something?”

“Which class?” She put a hand on her hip, a small smirk on her face.

“Huh?”

“You need notes, right?”

“Oh, no.” He shook his head, “It’s uhm…I need advice.”

Her eyes widened, grabbing his hand she dragged him over to the bleachers, patting the stop next to her for him to sit. “Advice about what?”

“Well I think I like someone…”

She cut him off, “Is it Y/N? Tell me it’s Y/N!”

He wanted to deny it, but if she guessed that easily, obviously he wasn’t good at hiding his feelings. Or it could have just been you’re the only person he really hangs out with outside of the volleyball team. But if it was obvious, had you picked up on it? Or was that a sign you didn’t like him back?

“If it’s that obvious how come she didn’t already notice?” He sighed, shoulders dropping.

“She could just be shy. You two are really close, maybe she’s just nervous. Or she could want you to make the first move, some girls like that.” Yukie shrugged.

“What if I tell her and it ruins our friendship?”

“But what if you tell her and you have a really great relationship?” She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “you can’t be in the game if you just stand on the sidelines, right?”

* *  
The first time Bo went to confess he had practiced his small speech all night, not falling asleep until close to 2:45am. He even asked one of his sisters to iron his uniform in exchange for doing the dishes all week and made sure he left a bit earlier. If there was a pre-confession checklist, he had all the boxes checked and ready to go. It was all planned, he wanted to tell you his feelings as soon as he saw you, but he also didn’t want it to distract you from classes, you were very serious about getting into a good university. So as much as he hated to wait, he held out until the end of the day, right before practice. 

He had told you to meet him at your locker after your last class and he pepped up when he got a quick glimpse of you waiting there for him. Taking one last deep breath, he continued to walk towards you until he saw something that brought him to a complete halt. You throw your arms around some guy he doesn’t recall seeing around Fukurōdani Academy, but to be fair that wasn’t saying much. He didn’t really keep up with people who weren’t in his class or on the volleyball team. He tried to hold on to the confidence he had all day, but it was shattered when you waved him over, introducing whoever the guy was as your boyfriend. 

That’s how Bokuto spent all of his second year and most of his third year, watching you get into a relationship with what felt like everyone but him. He’d smile when you introduced the newest guy who confessed, whisper how sorry he was when you came to him crying when the relationship inevitably ended, help you pick up all the pieces. He became the one you could turn to who didn’t have an ulterior motive, the one who was just there for you without you even asking him to be.

Then after Bo felt he had waited long enough, that you were in a good place after the break-up, he’d get ready to confess only to have it shot down by you introducing him to the guy who managed to confess a day or so before he had the confidence to. And the cycle just continued, you got in a relationship, broke up, Bo went to confess, you already had a new guy, leaving Bokuto’s self-esteem to slowly be chipped away.

* *  
February – 2012

“Bokuto-san, you should really say something to Y/N.” Akaashi said, helping the ace pick up a few stray volleyballs from their extra spiking practice.

The ace just shrugged, he had realized that it had been a while since your last break up and you hadn’t been acting like you were in a new relationship like you usually did. But for longer than he’d care to admit, he’d held on so tightly to his feelings that he wondered if he could even let them go.

“I’ll support whatever you decide, but I’d hate for you to regret not telling her years from now.” Akaashi gave Bokuto a small pat on the shoulder before he headed for the locker room.

**  
March – 2012 

Bokuto took a deep breath and smoothed the wrinkles on his shirt. Today was the day, he was finally going to confess his feelings for you. He had it all planned out, with Akaashi’s help of course. He had bought the small owl keychain you had said you liked last weekend when out shopping.

His heart fluttered when he heard your laugh and his pace increased even though his legs felt like they’d give out at any moment. He swallowed thickly, the heaviness of his nerves filling his chest with each step he took. The butterflies in his stomach multiplied making him feel a slight wave of nausea when he finally sees your face. You jumped up from the bench you’ve been sitting on, waving him over eagerly with a huge smile on your face. Something about this time felt right to Bo and he dug into his pocket, tightly holding on to the keychain.

“Bo!” You throw your arms around him and he let the floral scent of your perfume calm him. 

“Y/N.” He cleared his throat, “I want to tell you something.”

“Can I tell you something first?” You smiled at him and gave him a small pout which he knows he can’t refuse. How could he ever say no to you?

“Of course.” What was a few more minutes?

“I got into Kyoto University!” You started to jump up and down, hugging him once again.

“Y/N, that’s awesome! I’m so proud of you!” The two of you sat down on the bench, knees slightly touched when you turned a bit to the side to face him. 

“Thank you!” You let out a breath, “it might sound odd, but I’m glad to be going to university single. No distractions, I can just focus on me and my degree.”

You had started to ramble about the course catalog and the two different majors you were torn between, but Bo didn’t hear any of it. Your words repeated on a loop in his mind, breaking his confidence and maybe even a little of his heart. He wanted to get up and just go home, skip practice, he didn’t care about Nationals right now. Once again, he was too late, but for some reason this time felt more permanent. 

“Bo! Bo!” You called out, “what did you want to tell me?”

When he looked up at you, you had that signature smile on your face, the one he always looked for on a bad day or the same one Akaashi would point out when he hit a slump during a game and it broke his heart.

“Nothing. Oh wait,” he stood up, pulling the keychain out of his pocket. “I just wanted to give you this.”

Your eyes widened and you squealed when the owl keychain was placed in your hand. You had briefly mentioned you liked it while the two of you walked past the small shop. To be fair you weren’t sure he had even heard you, but you weren’t surprised, Bo always came through. You pressed yourself up on your tiptoes, pressing a kiss to his cheek, thanking him over and over for the gift.

At that moment, Bokuto wasn’t sure which had hurt him more. Coming to confess to you, just to see someone had beat him to it or coming to confess just to hear you say you didn’t want a boyfriend. Each time had taken a toll on him, each time carrying the heavy weight of rejection, but this time Bo knew it would be the last time because he couldn’t take that pain anymore.

* *  
January 13, 2026

“Let’s go to the swings, Hakkun!” Seiko grabs the boy and drags him across the playground.

“No. I don’t want to!” He tugs his arm away from her which causes her to stop and look at him. Haruki didn’t normally act like that, usually he just went along with whatever she wanted to do, but lately he’d been acting differently and Seiko didn’t like it. 

“Fine! Play by yourself!” Seiko stomps away, crossing her arms as she goes. When she finally hops up on the swing, there’s an older girl on the one next to her.

“Don’t worry. Brothers can be moody sometimes.”

It isn’t the first time someone called them siblings, assuming they were related which usually bothered her because she didn’t think they looked anything alike. But this time, it gave her an idea that she wanted to share with him. Though it would have to wait because she was still mad at him.

* *  
January 20, 2026

You and Youta have been sitting across from each at the kitchen table going over the fine details of your divorce for the last half hour. It still feels weird to you, for months the two of you could barely hold a conversation, but within the last few weeks it was as if you were back in college. As if this whole process was the same as a college debate and you both were able to effortlessly keep up the conversation. It was as if when you both accepted the end of your relationship had come, that pressure to make things work, to keep up the facade was gone and you two could breathe again.

It feels weird that 12 years of your life was now simplified into a small stack of papers, that somehow the love that you two had stumbled upon on a college campus was just gone. The same love that brought your beautiful son into the world had somehow vanished without you noticing. Maybe you had noticed, maybe you saw the way Youta’s eyes never stayed focused on you for long, how even when he was there he seemed to be somewhere else. Maybe it was something you had known when the lack of your husband’s touch had stopped bothering you and you’d wish he had stayed out all night rather than stumbling in at 3am just to end up waking you.

Your son walks by the table, going into the kitchen and grabs a snack that he knows he shouldn’t have because it’s almost time for dinner. He tries to walk by you, without a word before you reach out, stopping him.

“Ruki, it’s almost dinner. Let’s wait on the snack, okay?” You say, your tone gentle as you reach out to pull him into a hug. You were used to your son being more reserved than outgoing, he usually preferred to read or draw and always opted to be in the living room so he was around you but could still be alone. But recently you noticed that he preferred spending most of his time alone, if there wasn’t a specific reason to be around you or Youta, he holed up in his room.

“But I don’t want to.” He puts up his arms, pushing away from your embrace before he starts to open the foil package.

“Haruki, I asked you to wait for dinner.” You reach for the package, but he yanks it out of your reach.

“I don’t care!” He shouts, walking back towards his room.

“You need to apologize, Haruki. That’s not how you speak to your mother.” Youta stands up from the table, a serious expression on his face as his words come out steady and firm.

Haruki stops midway down the hall, turning his head slightly to the side and he mumbles an apology, heading back into his room before you or your husband could say anything further.

* *  
February 22, 2026

“Hakkun!” Seiko throws her arms around her best friend, squeezing him a bit tighter than usual. She had been talking to her parents about what was going on between you and Youta and when she asked how she could help, they told her just to make sure he knew he was loved.

“Hey Seiko.” He gave her a small smile. You had dropped Haruki off with Bo since you had a job interview and Youta had to travel to Miyagi for a short business trip. 

“My daddy said we can watch him practice if we want!” She smiles, taking his hand in hers, “you still wanna play volleyball, right?”

He shrugs, “I guess.”

“Maybe you and Saki-chan could practice together! Uncle Kaashi is gonna teach her!”

Haruki follows her to the top of the bleachers, she swears it’s the best spot to watch, but Haruki would’ve been fine on the first row. Both of them are watching the MSBY team run drills when Seiko screams before turning to Haruki.

Bo immediately starts apologizing to the team who just waved him off, telling him that it’s fine, they love Seiko and the slight distraction was the perfect chance for a small break.

Sakusa’s eye twitches as he glares towards Bokuto, “I really wish she was more like Jess.”

“Seiko is perfect the way she is.” Hinata quickly adds, giving the outside hitter a thumbs up.

“Is she?” Sakusa raises his brows before walking away, leaving both Hinata and Bokuto speechless.

“Speaking of Jess, how is she doing?” Meian jogs over to his teammates, water bottle in hand.

Atsumu cocks his head to the side, curious about his captain's seemingly sudden interest in Jess, but before he can ask, Bokuto begins to tell him that they had just talked earlier that morning and she’s been doing fine. 

**  
“I FORGOT TO TELL YOU ABOUT AN IDEA!” Seiko shouts before Haruki reaches over to cover her mouth with his hand.

“Seiko, inside voice.”

Her cheeks turn red and she gives Haruki her signature sorry smile before waving at her dad telling him the same.

“Sorry, I just got so excited.”

“What did you forget to tell me?”

“Remember when we were at the park and I wanted to swing?”

He just nods, he didn’t like thinking about how mean he had been and what made it worse was when he tried apologizing, Seiko just brushed it off, telling him that it was her fault not his. 

“A girl called you my brother.”

“People do that a lot.” Haruki turns his head when he hears the smack of a volleyball, his attention going back to the MSBY practice. It wasn’t anything new for them to be mistaken for siblings even though they didn’t really look anything alike.

“But what if we were siblings?”

“Then one of us would have totally different parents.”

She huffs, annoyed with his attitude, but remembers what her mom said and calms down. “No, I mean what if your mom and my dad got together.”

His head snaps towards the little girl, his attention completely on her. “What?”

“My dad always smiles around your mom.”

“And my mom really likes being around your dad.” He taps his chin with his index finger, thinking. You did seem a bit sadder since he learned his parents were getting a divorce and he knows Uncle Bo makes you laugh a lot. He looks over to Seiko who has a grin on her face, “what did you have in mind?”

“I’m glad you asked.” Seiko leans towards Haruki, cupping her hand and whispering in his ear.

**  
“Seiko! Haruki! Get your jackets ready, I’ll be back shortly.” Bo calls up to the two kids who are both smirking.

“Okay Daddy!”

“I’m serious. We have to meet Y/N on time.” He points at his daughter before heading into the locker room, but stops when he hears Jess’s name come up in conversation. 

“What yer askin’ about Jess for?” There’s a slight amount of teasing in his curious tone.

“Just making conversation since Sakusa brought her up.” Meian’s almost boring response slightly irks the setter, but the faint blush on his cheeks aren’t lost on Atsumu.

“If yer that worried, I’m sure Bo would give ya her number.” Atsumu raises his eyebrow at his captain who seems to be a bit flustered now. 

“I uhm—it’s really fine. I was just making conversation.” Meian shuts his locker a little too hard.

“You’re sure Bo would what?” Bokuto lets his presence known, a puzzled look on his face.

“Invite the team to Seiko’s birthday party, of course.” Atsumu smirks.

“Yeah, of course.” He goes to his locker, grabbing his stuff for a quick shower. It had never crossed his mind before, not that he was opposed to it, but thinking of Jess with someone else left a weird feeling in his chest.

* *  
February 27, 2026 

“What do you think they are talking about?” You ask Bo, both of you looking at the table next to yours. Despite popular opinion, Bo didn’t take Seiko out for fast food often, but you managed to convince him this one time wouldn’t hurt, so here you all were at McDonald’s much to Bo’s distaste.

Seiko and Haruki are sitting close to each other, hands cupped over their mouths as they whisper to each other, eyes going back and forth between their parents and each other. Both of your children had begged to sit at their own table, claiming they were discussing their next big adventure where no adults were allowed.

Bo shrugs, “probably scheming something or another. Seiko’s birthday is coming up.”

“That’s true. Can you believe they’ll be six this year?”

“Sometimes I still can’t believe I’m a dad.” He laughs.

“Anything special planned?”

He leans over, whispering in your ear, “Jess is coming in, it’s a surprise.” When he sits back up, he sees Seiko giggling before she looks down at her food, almost like she had been caught. 

**  
“What do you think they are talking about?” Seiko looks over at Haruki when she sees her dad lean over towards you.

“Adult stuff, probably.” Haruki takes a bite of a chicken nugget.

“Haruki, c’mon. We have to think of ways to get them together.” Seiko grabs one of his fries despite his protests.

“Maybe we should ask an adult.” He shrugs, “they’d probably have more experience with this.”

“But who?” She rests her chin on her hand, looking over at her dad who is laughing with you. Her eyes widen along with the smirk on her face, “I know the perfect person.”

* *  
February 28, 2026

A yawn comes from the other end of the video call before the lamp on the nightstand flicks on, the once black screen now showing a very sleepy woman, brown hair thrown up in a messy bun.

“Sei…ko? Is everything alright?” She looks at the clock on her nightstand: 4:35am.

“Hey hey hey!” Seiko yells, waking her mother even more. “I have a favor to ask.”

At 4 in the morning? You really are Kotaro’s daughter. “Can it wait until Mommy wakes up, princess?”

Jess already knows by the small pout on her bottom lip that that is just not going to be an option. She sighs in defeat, wondering if she should just get up and get a coffee.

“It’s really important, Momma.”

“What is this favor that simply cannot wait?” 

“Haruki and I need help getting Daddy and Y/N together!”

Jess fully supported the idea of Bo and you together, just a few weeks ago she too was advocating for him to tell you of his feelings. But hearing her daughter advocate for the cause left a funny feeling in her chest. She put that feeling to the side, the look on her daughter’s face as she anxiously waited for her answer was enough to take precedence and hearing about the McDonald’s table set-up she had come up with made Jess feel proud. Seiko takes so much after Bo that it’s rare Jess sees herself in her, but when she does, it’s a great feeling. 

“Okay, here’s what you do.”


	6. haruki's dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to take a moment to flesh out Youta's character more and also highlight on how a kid Haruki could potentially act after learning his parents are divorcing. 
> 
> As with all my pieces I draw from not just personal experiences but I also did research on Haruki's age group and such. That being said, not all 5-6 years would react/act the same, these were just common behaviors for the age group.

**January 23, 2026**

********

Haruki hasn’t really been out of his room other than to eat meals, which he mostly just picks at, and when he had to go to daycare. Just yesterday you had to pick him up early because his teacher said he was complaining of not feeling well and today you kept him home because he was complaining of a stomach ache. It broke your heart to see him acting like this, but you weren’t sure what was wrong, he wasn’t forthcoming with the information.

********

“Why can’t you watch him?” Youta asks, walking back into the home office to grab his briefcase.

********

“I have an interview today, Youta.” If you hadn’t been going back and forth with him, you might’ve seen the way his face slightly fell at your words, he had made it a point to make sure you didn’t have to work.

********

“Why are we paying for daycare if he’s not going to go?” Youta sighs, checking his watch, knowing he needs to leave in the next ten minutes if he’s going to make his meeting.

********

“He said he doesn’t feel well. I can’t send him if he’s sick.”

********

“Haruki!” Youta calls, sitting down by the door to put on his shoes. He looks up when he sees his son, dragging his old blanket beside him, something he hasn’t done in a while, or maybe he had and Youta had been too busy to notice.

********

“Yeah Dad?”

********

“Would you be okay to go to Jii-chan’s house?”

********

Your son just shrugs, “I guess. You don’t ask me what I want anyways.”

********

**  
Physically, Youta is at the meeting, sitting in the chair assigned to him while across from his boss, his pen moving around the notepad in front of him and it appears that he’s taking notes, but mentally Youta is far from the meeting, his son’s words playing on repeat as he pictures him clinging to his blanket.

********

You don’t ask me what I want anyways.

********

The words didn’t mean much when he first heard them not too long ago, they didn’t hit him while he drove to work or when he was riding the elevator up to his office. Those eight words were all but forgotten as he sipped his morning coffee that his assistant brought him while flipping through the budget reports the meeting would cover.

********

But while he sat in some hardly used chair in a freshly painted room, the words acted like weights on his mind. Now he could see the hopelessness that peeked through his son’s eyes, hear the defeat in the small sigh he had made and he could clearly see the pout that his lips made. 

********

It was now that he realized through all this, all the what goes to you and what goes to him, between the interviews you were going on and the apartments he was looking at, you both had forgotten Haruki. You both had forgotten that to Haruki, you weren’t a woman who had enough and Youta wasn’t a neglectful husband, to Haruki you were just mom and dad. His mom and dad who both seemed to be getting ready for a new life that neither of you had seemed to bother to talk to him about. 

********

The two of you had sat him down, telling him that things would be different and maybe even a little scary. That dad was going to move to a new place, but he could see him whenever he wanted and that mom was going to start working. They had told Haruki exactly what was going to happen, but that’s just it, they told him, they never asked him how he felt or how he wanted to do things. 

********

Without much thought, Youta stands up interrupting whoever is speaking and getting a few strange looks from those around him. 

********

“Something to say Nakajima-san?” His boss asks him, looking a bit intrigued by his action.

********

“I have to go.” He quickly grabs his things off the table, “I need to see my son.”

********

* *  
“Youta? Did something happen?” His mother asks, concern etching across her face.

********

He doesn’t answer instead he looks around the room before heading through the house, his mother following him repeated voicing her concerns. But he just shakes his head, opening the various doors that he walks by, before he finds who he’s looking for.

********

“Dad?” Haruki’s looking over his shoulder, “what’s wrong?”

********

Youta walks over to Haruki, dropping to his knees in front of the small boy whose been sitting outside on the swing Youta’s dad had put up for him when he was Haruki’s age. He pulls Haruki into him, wrapping his arms tightly around the little boy and places his hand on the back of his head. 

********

Haruki isn’t sure what to do, his dad has never really hugged him before, opting for hair ruffles and pats on the back when it came to physical contact. But something in him finally cracks, the pressure of the uncertainty of his family situation finally breaks and he tightly grabs at his dad’s back, hands clinging onto the fabric of the suit jacket as he starts to shake, to tremble as he cries into Youta’s shoulder who just holds him.

********

“I promise I’ll be a better son,” his words rush out against Youta’s shoulder. “I’ll try harder and do anything that you want.”

********

Youta pulls Haruki back enough to see his tear-covered face and Youta’s heart break, unsure of what he’s talking about. “You aren’t a bad son, where did you hear that?”

********

“If I was a good son,” he starts sobbing, frantically wiping his eyes with his forearm while he keeps one hand tightly clenched to Youta’s jacket, “you wouldn’t be leaving me.”

********

Youta pulls him back into his chest, Haruki buries his face into his dad’s shoulder, crying loudly into the fabric. “I’m not leaving you, Haruki.”

********

* *  
**January 26, 2026**

************ ** **

Haruki had stayed home from daycare again today, he had been up all night and Youta offered to just call out of work to be with him, mostly because ever since Youta left his meeting and talked to Haruki, Haruki refused to leave his dad’s side. So that meant last night when Haruki woke up from the nightmares that he had started having, he cried until you woke Youta up to be with him. 

************ ** **

Youta lets out a yawn before he picks up his cup of coffee, carefully bringing it to his lips since Haruki is asleep against his side. He places it back down and looks at his son, trying to remember just how he had allowed himself to miss out on him growing up. 

************ ** **

He could still remember when you told him you were pregnant, just a few months after your first wedding anniversary. He had barely made it through your tiny apartment’s door when you ran into him, three positive pregnancy tests in hand and tears in your eyes. You had known you were going to be a mom for two hours and you already had a list of everything you could possibly need that Youta needed to buy that night and three lists of names; boys, girls and unisex.

************ ** **

He remembers the pride that swelled in his chest when he heard the doctor tell him that he was having a son and how you started crying when you bought baby socks. Youta can remember how scared he was when you both brought Haruki home from the hospital, unsure of how the hospital thought two people who couldn’t raise a plant were capable of caring for a helpless tiny baby. He remembers how all that fear was erased when Haruki’s little hand grabbed his finger.

************ ** **

Youta can recall the first time his son took steps, how his first word was ‘dada’ and Youta bragged to everyone who’d listen, and the first time Haruki had to go to the hospital when he had a really bad fever. But now looking at his five-year-old, he didn’t have any real memories like he used to, other than him begging his dad not to leave him.

************ ** **

**  
By lunch time, Haruki is now wide awake, boosting Youta’s self-esteem on his ability to cook. Although all he really did was add the leftover salmon from the night to some rice and a few other things to make fried rice. 

************ ** **

“Dad?” Haruki smiles up at his dad, really happy that Youta hasn’t left him to go to his office to do work.

************ ** **

“Haruki?”

************ ** **

“Can you teach me to play baseball?”

************ ** **

“I thought you wanted to play volleyball?” Youta watches the smile on his son’s face fall, quickly being replaced by him chewing on the inside of his cheek. His eyes drop from Youta’s to the ground, his foot dragging across the carpet. He waits a few minutes before cocking his head to the side, “what’s on your mind?”

************ ** **

Haruki finally looks at his dad, tears pooling his eyes, “I thought if I played the same sport as you that you’d stay. I heard you and mom arguing about Uncle Bo and I mean volleyball isn’t even that cool.”

************ ** **

Once again, Youta is the reason his son is upset, the reason for Haruki’s tears and his heart breaks. He pulls Haruki into him, tightly hugging him against his chest, knowing exactly which fight he is talking about.

************ ** **

* *  
**A few nights ago – 10:45pm**

********

************ ** **

********

“I can’t always work around your schedule, Youta!” You shouted as you marched out of his office. For the last hour the two of you had been going over various appointments and trying to make sure that one of you would be there to get Haruki from daycare.

********

************ ** **

********

He followed you, trying his hardest to pull you back into the room to avoid waking Haruki up, but you just continued your way into the kitchen.

********

************ ** **

********

“I understand that. I’m not asking you to. I have tried but just can’t reschedule this meeting.” He ran his fingers through his hand, he was exhausted from not really sleeping and an increased workload that not even the strongest cup of coffee could help him get through.

********

************ ** **

********

You fumbled through the cabinets, not bothering to try to keep the noise down because you were pissed. Ever since you and Youta sat down and agreed to get a divorce, you found yourself suddenly more irritated with your husband. You had realized that you put up with more than you should’ve and no longer cared to tiptoe around him even though Youta has been doing everything he could to make things easier on you.

********

************ ** **

********

“I’m tired of jumping through hoops for you!” You sat down a glass a bit too hard on the counter, turning to look at him as you exhaled loudly through your nose. 

********

************ ** **

********

“I understand that. I’ll talk to my assistant again about moving the meeting.”

********

************ ** **

********

“I’ll just ask Bo if he can watch him.” You shook your head, opening the fridge a tad aggressively.

********

************ ** **

********

“I said I’ll make it work, Y/N. Come hell or high water, the meeting will be moved.”

********

************ ** **

********

“Ruki wants to play volleyball so watching the MSBY practice can be good. Plus, I’m sure Bo would love having him there.”

********

************ ** **

********

“I am Haruki’s father, not Bo.” He tightly gripped the counter top behind him, trying to breathe. It had been awhile since this had gotten to him, since he felt inferior to Bokuto, but with all the ups and downs the divorce brought to his life it wasn’t too much of a surprise.

********

************ ** **

********

“How could I forget?” 

********

************ ** **

********

Your words hit like venom as you grabbed your glass and walked off, leaving Youta alone in the kitchen. He kicked the cabinet door in front of him and then cussed under his breath realizing that he could’ve woken up Haruki. He stormed back to his office where he had an extra futon that he’d been sleeping on lately and closed the door.

********

************ ** **

********

But he failed to see, just like you had, that Haruki’s door was cracked. He had been listening the whole time and even though he didn’t completely understand what you both had been arguing about, he had heard his name and picked up on how angry you both were when you said it.

********

************ ** **

********

* *  
**January 27, 2026**

************ ** **

************ ** **

************ ** **

Youta has always been a hard worker, someone who doesn’t hesitate to go above and beyond to end up on top; whether that be in his studies, in work or in his personal life. He had watched his dad strive for the top as well as his grandfather, he was simply just falling in life with the examples that were set for him. Youta never wanted those he loves, his family, to ever need anything and to always have what they wanted. That’s what a man does right? He supports his family, he sacrifices the little moments so he can provide, right?

************ ** **

************ ** **

************ ** **

He had tried to be the best in his personal life, but he was failing. He was far from the perfect husband, further from the perfect father and he knew eventually he’d have to tell his parents that he was the cause for his failed marriage. That the perfect son they bragged about, the one who excelled in his business classes, the very one who was the youngest to be prompted to CFO at the company he worked for, was nothing but a failure. 

************ ** **

************ ** **

************ ** **

Maybe that’s why now, now that he’s been faced with the crippling reality of his ‘perfect on paper’ life, he’s haunted by his son’s words as he stares up at the ceiling from the futon in his home office.

************ ** **

************ ** **

************ ** **

I thought if I played the same sport as you that you’d stay.

************ ** **

************ ** **

************ ** **

Not once in his short life had Youta ever asked Haruki what he wanted and the one time that his son came to him asking for something, he couldn’t say yes because of Bokuto. It wasn’t that Youta hated Bokuto, but he couldn’t say he liked him either. When he first met you, Bokuto was all you talked about and even for someone as confident as Youta, it chipped away at him. Youta knew that he could get with anyone, he’d always been the kind of guy who received lots of confession and he knew he wasn’t bad looking either, but it was different with you. With you, you challenged him, you pushed him in ways no one else had and he didn’t want to let that go. 

************ ** **

************ ** **

************ ** **

Even after you two had gotten together, Bokuto was still a huge part of your life. He knew he couldn’t tell you to drop someone who had been such a dear friend to you, but it didn’t leave him feeling good when you excused yourself to call him or had Youta repeat something because you were texting the volleyball player back. He tried to use that as an excuse on your second anniversary date when he got caught up with someone else. That you had pushed him into someone else’s arms because you value a friendship over your relationship, but Youta knew it was because he was letting into temptation.

************ ** **

************ ** **

************ ** **

He was content with letting your relationship end after that, when the two of you were awkwardly dancing around the other since neither of you had a place to move to. He had told you that he couldn’t bear the idea of you both graduating and never seeing each other again, so that’s why he decided to fight. He lied. Youta overheard you asking Bokuto if you could move in with him after graduation and he heard the way Bokuto answered like a dying man being offered salvation and the way you sounded like you had known how he’d answer. Youta thought that he couldn’t lose you, but the reality was he couldn’t lose you to him. Which was why when his son asked if he could play volleyball to be like his Uncle Bo, Youta turned down the only request his son had ever made.

************ ** **

************ ** **

************ ** **

* *  
**February 6, 2026**

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“Haruki! Haruki!” You shout, looking through the house for your son. You let out an annoyed sigh, you had to leave very soon or you’ll be late for the bullet train to Tokyo. It also irritates you that you haven’t seen Youta yet, irked that he seems to still be in his office.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

You glance at the wall clock once more, getting more and more irritated that you were getting no help and had an important meeting to get to. You yell out your son’s name one more time before Youta pops out of his office.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“Y/N, calm down, why are you yelling?”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

You look at him in complete disbelief, the both of you had gone over this week’s schedule and you felt irked that he could remember dates with other women but not when you had plans. It takes all your willpower not to roll your eyes at him.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“Seriously? I told you earlier this week and yesterday that I have to be in Tokyo today.” You run your fingers through your hair, readjusting the bag that’s on your shoulder.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

Haruki walks out of his dad’s office, wearing khaki’s and button up shirt with a bowtie. You are taken aback for a minute trying to figure out why he wasn’t in more comfortable clothes since he was going to day care.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“What are you wearing? Go change, Ruki, I don’t have time for this.”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“No.” He walks to Youta, “Dad said I’m going to work with him.”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“What?” You look at your husband, glaring, “what happened to that oh so important meeting?”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“I still have it, but I told you I’d handle it.”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

You squat down to get eye level with Haruki, a soft smile on your face. “If you go to daycare then Uncle Bo can pick you up and take you to his practice.”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“I want to go with Dad.” Haruki clenches his hands into fists, opening and closing them repeatedly. Youta tells him to run go get his notebook from the office and once he’s gone, Youta turns to you.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“Why are you fighting this? I said I’d handle it and I did, why’s that a problem?”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

You really didn’t know why it was a problem, you should be happy that Haruki is spending more time with his dad, but it also bothers you. It wasn’t fair that his life seems to go untouched while you spent so much time scrabbling trying to hold together the pieces of your life. 

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“Maybe I don’t want my son around your little girlfriend.”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“What are you talking about?”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“I know you have a thing for your assistants.”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“Ah.” He clicks his tongue, a slightly amused smile on his face before he leans closer to your ear once Haruki starts coming down the hall. “My assistant is a man, nice to see you still get jealous over me.”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“Youta!” You huff, walking away from him, heading towards the door to get your shoes on. You weren’t jealous, were you? No, you were just trying to keep Haruki safe, but how would he be unsafe? You shake your head, pissed that he could still get to you, that he could get under your skin in that way. But a small smile reaches your lips as you realize that there was a strong chance you two would be able to be civil to one another.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

The three of you walk out into the hall, everyone dressed and ready to go when Youta calls out to you, right as you get ready to go your separate ways. 

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“For what it’s worth, the last time,” he pauses and you nod, understand what he’s referring to, “was a one-time thing and it hasn’t happened since.”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

You bite your lip, nodding at him as you let the words sink in, trying to understand why that made you almost regret your choice for divorce. Asking yourself if you had known that piece of information, would you have tried to repair your relationship whether than end it.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

* *  
Haruki clings tightly to the edge of Youta’s suit jacket, not wanting to be separated from his father. Youta explains to Haruki that the day will mostly be spent in his office until the meeting and then he’ll sit with his assistant. Speaking to boss previously, he managed to get the okay to leave after lunch which he hoped Haruki would enjoy.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“Good morning Nakajima-san.” His assistant smiles at him, handing him some notes for him to read before the meeting. He then looks down at Haruki, “and this would be?”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

Youta greets him, taking the folder before looking at his son who is now half hidden behind Youta’s legs. “This is my son Haruki.”

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

“Good morning Haruki-kun.” The assistant smiles and Haruki returned it with a small wave, staying hidden behind Youta even as they walk into his office.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

**  
Haruki is sitting on the other side of the desk, watching his dad type away on his computer and giggles when he sees his dad try to balance the phone between his ear and shoulder as he types. When Youta catches on to his son’s observations, he sticks his tongue at him which gets the boy laughing even harder. 

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

He feels his stomach drop when his assistant comes in to warn Youta the meeting starts in ten minutes and he watches his dad start to finish what he’s been doing. Haruki had been told that during the meeting he would be staying with his assistant, but he doesn’t want to. Lately he’s been worried that if he lets Youta out of his sight, he’ll never see him again and the young boy is determined to cling to him. Which is literally what he does when Youta walks by him and he clutches his dad’s pants.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

**************** ** ** ** **

Haruki eventually lets Youta go after his boss says Haruki can sit in on the meeting, which was actually a good thing since the young caught a small typo in the budget report, a simple subtraction error. Youta’s boss jokes, telling Haruki to come back after he graduates and he’d have himself a job which gets a small smile from the boy, who looks up to see his dad swell with pride.

**************** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

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* *  
**February 21, 2026**

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

You walk into the living room, surprised to see both Youta and Haruki up, dressed and Youta washing the dishes. Glancing at the wall clock you double check that it’s only 8:15 so you were really lost at to what they were planning to do.

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

“Mom! We made you breakfast, it’s in the microwave staying warm.” Haruki runs over to you, throwing his arms around you, hugging your legs.

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************ ** **

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You pat his head, smiling before glancing over to Youta. “Where are you two headed this early?”

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

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“To the park, Haruki wants to learn to play baseball.” He looks over his shoulder with a smirk on his face, “sorry to break the news, but my baseball pants don’t fit anymore.”

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

You roll your eyes, cheeks burning a little bit at the memory. Shaking your head, you look back at Haruki, “Baseball, huh? You know, your dad used to play when we met.”

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

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Haruki’s eyes widen, a huge smile on his face, “do you have pictures, Mom?”

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

“I think I can find them while you and Dad are out.”

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

He screams a loud thank you before asking Youta if he heard you. Once the dishes are cleaned and put away, Youta scoops Haruki up to help him put on his shoes before you get one final hug from Haruki and a surprising kiss on the cheek from Youta. 

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

**  
Later than night after dinner, the three of you bunch up on the couch, looking through old photo albums filled with pictures of you and Youta in college and some articles about him from the school paper. 

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

Haruki gasps excitingly every time you turn the page, telling Youta he looks funny without a suit on and saying gross when it’s a picture of you two holding hands or Youta kissing your cheek. He eventually falls asleep, head on your lap with his legs across Youta’s lap. Neither of you want to wake him, so you both sit there, looking at the albums.

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

“Remember that?” He points to an article about the university’s gardening club, but in the background of the photo was you and Youta.

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

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You laugh, taking a sip of your wine, “how could I forget? That’s the day you stalked me to ask me out.”

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“Stal—” His jaw drops and looks at you in shock, “I can’t believe you think that.”

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You find yourself giggling, cheeks burning from the alcohol and maybe a bit of embarrassment. Were you really flirting with your soon to be ex-husband?

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

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“I mean, when you _accidentally _ran into me.”__

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__“I can’t believe you kept this article.” He shakes his head in disbelief, a small smile on his face._ _

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

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__He moves to pick Haruki up, telling you he’s gonna put him to bed and would be back. When he comes back, he finds you with tears in your eyes, looking over the old pictures that map out the story of your relationship with him._ _

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

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__“Hey, Youta?”_ _

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

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__“What’s wrong, Y/N?” He sits down next to you, taking the album and wine glass to sit them on the table._ _

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

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__“Why can’t we be like this all the time?” You sniff, looking up at him, “why didn’t we work out?”_ _

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

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__He pulls you into his chest, it’s comforting but that wasn’t really surprising, there was a time that you two knew each other better than yourselves. He rubs circles on your back, holding you close as you repeatedly ask him why he doesn’t love you._ _

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

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__“I do love you, I don’t think I could ever stop loving you.” He pulls you back to look at him, but your eyes stay trained on your hands, wringing them together, tears dropping on them._ _

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

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__“Then how did we end up where we are?” Your words shake as they come out, getting caught in your throat._ _

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

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__With one hand, he gently lifts your chin and the other he uses to wipe the tears off your cheek and you notice there are a few tears in his eyes now as well. “Because I didn’t try hard enough when it mattered.”_ _

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

************ ** **

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__You start nodding, tears now streaming down your face before you press yourself back into his chest, “I still love you too.”_ _

******************** ** ** ** ** ** **

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******************** ** ** ** ** ** **


	7. adjustment periods

March 7, 2026

You sit on the couch in the empty apartment, sipping on a glass of wine, not something you do a lot, but you felt the occasion was right. You lean back on the couch, taking in the silence and start to have a sinking feeling in your stomach. This would be the normal for you and that reality is starting to be crushing.

Haruki begged you to let him go stay with Youta at his new apartment and you didn’t really have any reason to say no, though you had wanted to. You watched over the last few months Youta stepping up and wanting to be there more for Haruki which should make you happy, but it just kinda pisses you off. You’d seen it happen in movies, where a couple gets divorced and there’s usually always one cool parent and one not so cool parent and with Haruki living with you full time, you just know Youta will be the cool parent.

You let out a loud sigh to fill the void, wondering what most women in your position would do. You thought you’d celebrate your divorce being finalized, maybe have a few people over mostly so you weren’t alone, it’s not like you were proud that your marriage failed. But you didn’t put any real effort in maintaining friendships after college and without working, you didn’t have any coworkers.

You tried to arrange something with Lya but she was busy with a work project and Misaki, so here you are, alone for the first time in over ten years. At first you had wondered if you might enjoy the alone time, you couldn’t remember the last time you were alone. Before you had Haruki, you had Youta around and before Youta, you always had Bo around. So, in some way, this was the first time it had just been you since middle school. 

Then it hit you that this is how every other weekend would be, you alone with a bottle of wine, bored out of your mind. Part of you wanted to call Youta and ask to talk to Haruki, just to check up on him and maybe even Youta. A week or so ago the two of you finally had an honest conversation about things. 

It had been easy to throw blame at Youta, you effortlessly made snide comments to him when you first mentioned getting a divorce and wouldn’t shy away from making some nod at Youta’s extramarital behaviors. It took him honestly admitting that he messed up, that he made mistakes and didn’t always give his all for you to realize that you didn’t either. 

When you noticed Youta starting to change, his attention being pulled in various directions, you didn’t really bother to try to say anything and maybe that’s why things panned out the way they did. It wasn’t in any way your job to fix Youta, but it was your responsibility to put the best effort you could into your marriage, not just for you or Youta but for Haruki, and you didn’t do that.

You crinkle your forehead, looking at your phone as it goes off, an incoming video call. “Youta? Is everything okay?”

“Why wouldn’t they be?” 

“Well for starters all I can see is the corner of a table?” He flips the camera so you can see him and Haruki, “and I thought you two would be having some boys’ night.”

“Boys’ nights are overrated, right Haruki?”

“Yeah! Plus, we love you Mom!”

Youta awkwardly clears his throat as you laugh, your son giving you both a puzzled look. “Haruki wants to show you his room.”

“I can see it Monday baby boy. I don’t want to take time from your dad.”

“You aren’t. Dad has to hold the phone, right Dad?”

“It’s fine, Y/N.” He smiles at you and you finally agree to the virtual tour Haruki turns the call into. 

Youta’s apartment is smaller than the one you two shared, having only two bedrooms instead of three and it also seems to only have one bathroom. You told him that it’d be better for him to keep the original apartment so he’d have office space, but he refused, saying that it would be easier for you and Haruki to keep what was familiar to the two of you during this. 

Youta follows his son around who makes sure to stop and tell you which location you were at and to make sure you are paying attention. He shows you each room and everything Youta had to buy for them, including the towels which got a laugh from you and Youta. 

“Oh! This is Dad’s room!”

You can see Youta reaches his free hand out to grab Haruki from opening the closed bedroom door, but he’s too slow, the young boy rushing into the room, pointing out what little he had in there. As much as he tried, Youta could still be a little prideful so you know the state of his room bothers him, especially you seeing it when he’s tried hard to still provide for you and Haruki. You may not be able to see his face, but you have a strong feeling that he’s red all over his face and to the tips of his ears.

“Ruki, why don’t you show me the sheets Dad got you again?”

“Okay!” Youta hands his son the phone as he runs back into his room.

**  
Youta stands in the doorway of his room, looking at the pathetic state that it was in. It was already a small room but filled with spare futon he took from the old apartment and a desk he picked up, it looks like a closet. He runs his fingers through his hair, dread filling his chest as he realizes that his life lost vibrancy, it’s become a dull and lackluster version of itself now that he doesn’t have you in it. 

It would’ve been more ideal to keep the old apartment, his job required working from home and he hated doing work in the same room he slept, he was that way growing up and in college, he’d spend more time in the library than his dorm. But every article he read about kids and divorce told him that the kid’s environment and lifestyle needed to remain as normal as it could, so he found an apartment that was close enough to the park Haruki likes to go to, but far enough away that you wouldn’t have to worry about running into him. The one upside he found was it was a bit closer to his work and Haruki seems to love it.

It’s just a little after lunch on Monday when you swing by to pick up Haruki, you had your work orientation and Youta opted to work from home so he could watch Haruki for you. He’s a bit surprised when he opens the door to see you with three large cardboard boxes next to you and one in your arms.

“Moving in?” He teases and you just roll your eyes when he motions you to come in.

“Funny, but I think this will stay the boys’ apartment.”

“Boys’ apartment?” Youta questions you, handing you a box from the hall, the two of you making a make-shift assembly line.

“That’s what Haruki called it on the phone all weekend.” You bush your hands against your thighs, “anyways, this is some stuff for your place.”

“Y/N, you really didn’t need to do that.” He scratches the back of his neck, by his expression you can tell he’s a bit embarrassed.

You shrug, “it was just some extra stuff we had in the apartment. You didn’t have to buy everything, you know?”

“But the articles…”

You hold up a hand cutting him off, “you taking a few towels wouldn’t have thrown him into a tailspin.”

He flops down in the armchair he’s standing next to, “it’s my own fault I’m here, you don’t have to be so nice.”

“No and I won’t pretend like I’m not still hurt.” You put your hand on top of his, “but we are on the same team when it comes to Haruki and if giving you some pans and spare sheets helps our relationship get better, I’ll give you what I can.”

“Wait, I don’t get tea set from our wedding?”

“Don’t push it.” You shoot him a playful glare before Haruki comes running into the room, running right into you telling you how much fun he had at the “boys’ apartment” with Dad.

* *  
March 21, 2026

“What’s wrong, Sei-chan?” Misaki asks, plopping down next to her. 

Seiko doesn’t bother to look up at Misaki, she just continues staring around the ground. For a birthday party, she was miserable and just wanted to tell everyone they could go home. She’s used to not always having her mom around, but the older she gets the more she wants her to be, the more she feels like she needs her.

“Seiko? Can you go see if my phone is in my room?” Bo asks and watches as she sluggishly sighs, walking down the hall by dragging her feet.

Meian walks in with an obnoxiously large box in tow and a huge smile on his face. Bo helps him slide it towards the middle of the room after Atsumu and Tomas move the table into Seiko’s room.

“It’s not there, Da—” She stops, looking at the scene with a confused expression, “what’s that?”

“It’s the birthday gift from your Mom, ‘Ko.” Meian motions for her to come over and for the first time all day, there’s a small smile on her face.

“What is it?” She looks up at the captain with excitement in her eyes and he can’t help but smile .

“Go ahead and open it.”

Bo nods when she looks at him for confirmation before she starts tearing away the gift wrap. It’s a plain box which causes her to scrunch up her forehead, wracking her brain to figure out what it is. She gets ready to open the top flaps when a blur of brunette pops out yelling “surprise!”

Seiko stumbles backwards as her eyes widen and she starts screaming, “mommy!” Jess is laughing as she climbs out of the box, reaching out for her daughter who runs straight into her, both of them falling backwards, laughing.

**  
“I didn’t realize Jess and Meian were so close.”

“Hm?”

You look up to see Bo glancing into the living room, looking towards Jess. She’s sitting on the couch next to Meian as they talk to Lya and Akaashi, his hand resting comfortably on her thigh. 

“’Go!” Seiko calls, the MSBY captain’s attention immediately snapping to the birthday girl. When she was little, Seiko tried to call Meian by his given name, but struggled with the first half of Shugo and ‘Go stuck. In turn, he started calling her ‘Ko which got tons of laughs from her and still does, she likes that they rhyme.

“’Ko!”

“Will you come play volleyball with us?” 

Jess smirks, watching Seiko pull out her classic pouty face knowing that Meian will melt, and he does. He pats Jess’s thigh before excusing himself as Seiko grabs his hand, dragging him along with Haruki, Misaki and a few other kids from Seiko’s daycare.

“What’s going on between you two?” Lya looks at Jess, a smirk on her face.

Jess instantly turns red, eyes widening as she looks to Akaashi for help, but he simply excuses himself and her jaw drops when she hears him chuckle. She tries looking around the room for something to change the subject, but can’t. Accepting defeat, she looks up at Lya, sighing.

“Nothing…” Lya gives her a ‘yeah right’ look before Jess adds, “officially.”

“Do tell.” 

Jess starts to tell her about how about a year or so ago, Meian had reached out to her randomly after he stumbled upon one of her interviews online, she had covered some top American team that Meian had been following. Then after that, the two of them just continued to talk, exchanging online messages first before he finally asked for her number and then eventually texts turned into phone calls and he had become part of her daily schedule. 

She tells Lya about how there’s definitely something between them, but she’s not sure exactly what it is and that there’s also Bo’s feelings to take into consideration.

“What about my feelings?” 

Jess cringes, she didn’t want to mention anything to him until she had spoken to Meian, no point in bringing something up if it wasn’t gonna happen, right?

“If Jess gets the job here in Japan, how would you feel?” Lya quickly says, Jess mouthing ‘thank you’.

“I’d be thrilled!” He sits down next to Jess, draping an arm around her shoulder, pressing a kiss to her temple, “I’d have both my girls around all the time again.”

* *  
April 2026

“Daddy!” Seiko shouts, running down the hallway with her favorite blanket, “you and Y/N can pick out the movie!” She squeezes herself between the arm rest and Bo while Haruki sits to where his mom is right next to Bo.

“Are you sure?” Bo asks, raising an eye brow, Seiko takes movie night very seriously. She just nods and Bo looks at you who just shrugs.

Halfway through the movie, Seiko nudges her dad, asking for a few pieces of popcorn and he reaches for the bowl at the same time you do, hands slightly brushing and you quickly look at each other, Haruki had strategically asked for popcorn at the same time. Seiko clears her throat, her dad jumping in his seat before apologizing, handing her a couple pieces. 

Seiko lets out a yawn, “I’m going to bed, let’s go Haruki.”

Bo pauses the movie, “you’re going to bed? At 7:30pm?”

“I had a long day, Daddy.” She shakes her head, dragging her owl blanket back down the hallway, pulling Haruki with her.

“Is she okay?” You ask, taking a sip of your drink.

“She’s been acting a bit strange, maybe she’s just excited for Jess to move back.”

“I didn’t know that was official yet.”

“She just got the call that she got it, she’ll be moving back in July.”

“At least she has time to find a place.”

“She’ll be staying here for a while.”

“What?” Your tone is a sharper than you intended as you turn to face Bo directly. You want to tell him that you don’t want her to stay in his apartment, but you don’t have a solid reason for it. A knot tightens in your stomach, just like it did when Youta told you he was taking Haruki to his work, fear swallowing you whole, but you didn’t even know what you were so fearful of. 

Part of you wants to chalk it up as you being protective like you had been back when Jess and Bo first met, when you didn’t want her to take your place in Bo’s life. Now that was just silly of you because they share a child, she has a spot in his life that trumps your best friend role and that irks you, though you aren’t sure why.

He shrugs, grabbing a handful of popcorn, “she’ll be staying here, I thought it would be nice for Seiko to have her mom around.”

“I just thought she’d want her own place.”

“Well yeah, but if her staying here helps relieve some stress while she starts a new job, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

You shrug, leaning against his side once he settles back against the couch, it reminds you of how you two were in high school and when you would visit during college. He’d get the movie all ready to go, sit down and lift up his arm instantly as if there was no other way to watch a movie but with you tightly tucked underneath his arm. You hate to compare Youta and Bokuto because they are two separate people, both bring different things to your life, but at this moment, you can’t help but wonder if you ever fit so perfectly against Youta or if your place was always meant to be by Bo.

Seiko and Haruki quietly tiptoe down the hallway, peering around the corner before Seiko starts giggling.

“Shh.” Haruki says, placing his hand over her mouth.

“Sorry.” She mumbles against his hand before they slowly walk further into the living room.

Bokuto’s arm is propped up on the left arm rest, his cheek pressed against hand while you are curled up against his right side, both of you sound asleep. Haruki moves his hand and grabs a nearby blanket, laying it across you and Bo. They both freeze when Bo starts shifting, stretching his legs out while he yawns.

“Hakkun?” Seiko calls his name as they settle back into their beds in her room, leaving their parents to sleep on the couch.

“Hmm?”

“Are you sure you want to keep the plan?”

“Why?”

She rolls on her side, looking down at Haruki who is on the futon. “Don’t you want your Mom and Dad together?”

He just looks up at the ceiling, did he? He hasn’t really thought much about that. “I just want them happy.”

* *  
Late May 2026

Akaashi looks at his former teammate, who hasn’t said much since he got to Tokyo which is unlike him. “Where’s Seiko?”

“My sisters wanted to take her shopping.” Bo laughs, “they say it’s because I never let them see her.”

Akaashi just shakes his head, Bokutos could be a tad dramatic. “What’s bothering you?”

“What?” Bo looks at his best friend bewildered, “who said something’s bothering me?”

“The last time you were this quiet was when Jess got that job offer in California and you were worried Seiko would want her mom more than you. Before that, it was when you and Jess found out you were having a girl and you were terrified you wouldn’t have anything in common with her.”

Bo lets out a half laugh, half sigh before looking up at Akaashi, “if only you were this observant when it came to Lya.”

Akaashi’s face turns red and he starts to fidget with his hands, tangling his fingers together. He quickly gathers his composure, “we are not changing the topic.”

“It’s Jess and Y/N.” 

Akaashi’s eyes widened, that sentence was a curveball at best. “Jess, really?”

The two didn’t talk much about how Bo felt about Jess, after his impromptu proposal, Bokuto and Jess just fell back into their friendship and everything focused on Seiko. Whenever they were asked, they would just say they loved and cared for each other and that Seiko’s happiness and wellbeing was more important than a relationship title. Although most people didn’t buy that they weren’t together since neither of them made an effort to date anyone else. As far as you and Bo go, Akaashi has talked about that for almost the entirety of their friendship. 

Bo slumps down in his chair, leaning his head back with a groan. He tells Akaashi that Jess is moving back to Japan and he’s thrilled that Seiko can have her mom back. He tells him that he’s offered for Jess to stay in his apartment while she gets settled, but he’s worried about it. Worried that it’s a bit rude to try to pursue someone else while Jess is living with him, even though Jess fully supports him confessing to you, he wonders how that might affect Seiko.

Akaashi raises an eyebrow, letting Bo’s concerns sink in. “I think Seiko will be fine, you and Jess have always been rather open with her.”

He nods, knowing that everything Akaashi said is true, they made it a point to be transparent when it came to Seiko. He knows that at her age, there’s nothing odd about her parents’ relationship because that’s all she’s grown up knowing and even with knowing about your divorce, she’s never really been concerned with Bo and Jess’s relationship. Maybe Seiko’s not really who he’s worried about.

“I think it’s more about Jess.” He turns to look at the former setter who is simply waiting for Bokuto to react, “Bokuto-san, do you have feelings for Jess?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know.” He leans forward, elbows on his knees as he placing his face in his hands. Why couldn’t things just be simpler? He was all ready to confess to you when a decent amount of time had gone by after your divorce was finalized, but for some reason the prospect of Jess being around threw a wrench in that wheel.

“I think it’s time the two of you talk about that.” Akaashi lets out a deep breath, knowing Bokuto’s not going to want to. 

Their relationship has always been messy, even from the beginning. They were inadvertently using each other to forget someone else even if it wasn’t fully intentional but it led to this tangled web of emotions between them that neither felt the need to deal with. Using Seiko as a way to skirt away from the discussion as they just continued to push it into the corner of the room, hidden behind a chair.

“Yeah, I know.” He lets out a deep sigh, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. “I just don’t want to mess things up.”

“You proposed the second you found out she was pregnant, if she was gonna leave, she would’ve.”

“AKAASHI!!”

Akaashi just laughs, while the gesture was honorable, Bokuto would never live it down, it was just such a him reaction. Bokuto has the tendency to get tunnel vision which wasn’t always a bad thing but it did allow others to have some laughs. “As I was saying, it’d be better to talk it out now rather than wait and miss out on a chance whether it be with her or Y/N.”

Bo sits up, tossing his head backwards, groaning once again. All this hurt his head, it was all too complicated to try to figure out in one afternoon. He knows that he can’t always use Seiko as an excuse, that eventually she’d be grown enough to where his actions didn’t directly affect her like it does now, but he can still use her as the excuse for just a little longer, right? At least until he knew how Jess felt, right?

* *  
Late June 2026

“Oh my god, do you remember this?” You laugh, pointing at a picture from when you and Bo had first met. His hair was longer and spiked higher than it is nowadays which he still swears made him look super cool.

“Daddy, you look silly!” Seiko laughs, crawling into his lap.

Bo gives Seiko a pout before she snuggles into his chest, a silent apology. “Uncle Bo looked cool, right Ruki?”

“The coolest!” Haruki turns to his mom, eyes wide with his bottom lip poked out, “can I grow my hair like Uncle Bo’s was, please Mom!”

You toss a playful glare in Bo’s direction, who just chuckles, before smiling at your son, “if you want to.”

After you showed Haruki the photo album that had mostly pictures of you and Youta, he gushed about it to Seiko, who begged to see any pictures that Bo had. He kept them in a shoebox which led to tonight’s activity, organizing them and putting them in albums you picked up. His photos showcased an array of your friendship with Bo, him and Jess and a massive amount of Seiko. 

“It’s Mommy!” Seiko screams, grabbing one of Jess and Bo from one of the MSBY gatherings. “Why her tummy so big?”

“That’s you.” He points to Jess’ stomach, a fond smile on his face, “before you were born.”

“Daddy?” She’s staring at the picture, her eyes wide and Bo hums in response. “Can I keep this one?”

“Of course. We’ll pick up a frame tomorrow.” He leans his head down just a bit, placing a kiss on the top of her forehead.

**  
You drape a blanket over Seiko and Haruki who have fallen asleep, leaning against each other in the arm chair when Bo’s laughter captures your attention. He’s holding a picture, waiting to eagerly show it to you as you sit down closer to him that you were before.

“Oh god, you were so proud of that shirt.” 

* *  
High School – Second Year

You were tired, it was entirely too early to be up, but Bokuto and Akaashi had made it to Nationals and you wouldn’t miss that. Navigating to the stands was a bit harder than you imagined, not realizing just how big this tournament would be and trying your hardest to avoid clashing into any of the players.

You squeezed your boyfriend’s hand tighter, the large crowd feeling a bit suffocating and you relaxed once you felt him squeeze back.

“Do you know which court the team’s playing on?” He led you over to the bulletin board, his eyes scanning the sheets. You leaned into his side, eyes still a bit tired when you hear a loud shout coming from where the merchandise is being sold.

“AGAASHI! LOOK!”

Your head snapped up and you started tugging your boyfriend behind you as you weave through the crowd, towards the loud commotion.

“Bokuto-san, please lower your voice.”

“HOW COOL IS THIS!?!” Bo held up the shirt, shoving it slightly into the setter’s face before pulling it back and handing it to the cashier.

“Very cool, Bokuto-san.”

“Bo! Akaashi!” You called out, waving your hand in the air to try to catch their attention. You look around and see other members of the team scattered around the tables.

“Y/N!” Bokuto ran over to you, leaving Akaashi to thank the cashier and get the shirt and change. He stopped when he sees the tall figure standing behind you, your hand cupped by his. That hadn’t been something he was expecting when you told him you were coming to watch them play today.

“I came to watch you play, not buy t-shirts!” You laughed, but Bo quickly defended his purchase. He took it from Akaashi and held it up, proclaiming it was the coolest and best shirt at the venue. You quickly glanced at the text, only able to catch the ‘The Wisdom of the Ace’ text before he started turning to around.

Before he can answer, the coach called out to them that it was time to get back and start their warm-up. As the team passed you, you noticed that everyone else had gotten a different shirt, one that seemed to be the most popular and you couldn’t help but smile, realizing that Bokuto would always dance to his own drum.

* *  
“Didn’t someone else buy that highly unpopular shirt?”

“Hinata!” He grins, proudly, “that guy has taste.”

“What ever happened to it?” You raise an eyebrow, trying to think back to the last time you can recall him wearing it but sadly you draw a blank.

“Oh, uhm,” he scratches the back of his head, still shuffling through pictures. “Jess wore it a lot during her pregnancy.” He turns around a picture he’s picked up, it’s of a very pregnant Jess, her hair up in the signature messy bun she’d wear around the apartment, hand on her hip looking annoyed, sporting that baby blue shirt you’d been talking about. 

You didn’t say anything for a while, that ugly jealousy feeling creeps back up on you, settling deep in your chest, making it hard to breathe. After a few moments, you feel something tap against your arm and you see Bo holding up a few more pictures.

“Remember these?”

You give him a small smile, looking at the pictures of Seiko and Haruki when they were younger. There was one from when Haruki was first born, a little three-month old Seiko reaching out as Bo held Haruki and Jess stood close enough for Seiko to see him. One of Seiko squatting down next to a crying Haruki who had fallen from trying to walk. 

The third one he held up was one of your favorites, one that you had framed in your apartment: it was picture from high school, it was from the school trip your class took your third year. You were laughing at something, but what you hadn’t realized until now is the way Bo’s looking at you, the way his eyes are locked on you, the sincerest smile on his face, as if that was his favorite sight.


	8. seiko's mom

March 8, 2026

“Seiko, what do you want to do for your birthday?”

She crosses her arm, poking out her lip, “nothing.”

Bo sighs, for the last week he had been trying to get Seiko to tell him what she wanted, but once Jess told her she couldn’t come in, Seiko was determined not to do anything. What she didn’t know was that Jess was planning on surprising her by showing up, but clearly the almost six-year-old wasn’t having it.

Jess yawns on the other side of the camera, it was nearly 1am for her, but since she moved to the states, she hadn’t missed a single day of calling Seiko and wasn’t going to start now. “I mean we could just tell her.”

Seiko jerks her chin higher in the air, but her parents already know she’s listening.

“I don’t know Jess, should we? It doesn’t seem like she wants to know.”

“I wanna know! I wanna know!” She quickly turns back to face the laptop screen, her eyes pleading with her parents to tell her.

“I had a birthday surprise for you, but if you aren’t gonna have a party…”

“I want a party! I want one, Mommy!”

Bo starts laughing along with Jess who half laughs half yawns. After Seiko declares that she wants a party with an ice cream bar and a chocolate cake, they say their goodbyes and Bo tells Seiko to wash up for dinner.

* *  
Jess closes her laptop before dropping her head on the desk, she’s exhausted. In order to take the time off she needs, she’s been pulling extra work and covering stories that weren’t really within her scope. Her boss wasn’t pleased with her need for over a week off, but he couldn’t really deny it especially when he knew how much her daughter meant to her.

Sluggishly, she drags herself out of her office chair and down the hall to her room. A groan leaves her throat when she hears her phone vibrate against the wooden nightstand and she desperately wants to ignore it, but recently Seiko has started texting her “good morning” for her to see when she wakes up and she assumes it’s her.

Meian: Just wanted to double check the dates with you. (1:38 AM)

Meian: Shit, I just realized the time, hope I didn’t wake you up. (1:39 AM)

Jess feels her cheeks redden and a small smile breaks out on her face. Meian may have the nickname “Iron Wall” on the volleyball court, but this man was a complete dork off the court. She types out a few replies, deleting all of them without sending before she just calls him.

“I am so sorry.” He immediately starts apologizing, his words tripping over each other.

“Breathe, Meian.” She giggles, “I was still awake.”

“Ah. Goodnight call from ‘Ko?” He asks, but he doesn’t need to, he made it a point to know her schedule.

“She wasn’t too thrilled about me not being able to come to her party. Then when I told her I had a birthday surprise for her, she had to plan her whole party over the call.”

“Yeah? What did she pick?”

Jess climbs in bed, leaning up against the pillows as she slips under the comforter. “Ice cream bar and chocolate cake.”

“Atsumu will enjoy that.” Meian laughs, walking into his room, essentially hiding from the curious glances he’s getting from Inunaki and Tomas who are lounging in the living room.

“Atsumu’s coming?”

“Oh, uhm, the whole team was invited.” He pauses, “it’s really my fault.” He then starts to explain how he asked about her and how Atsumu covered with Bo and the whole team ended up invited but if she wanted, Meian could fix it. 

“But Bo knows we’re friends, we all hung out when I lived in Japan.” 

What Meian wants to tell her is that it’s different because Atsumu’s already picked up on his feelings for her, that somehow it feels like he’s breaking some sort of code since Bo and her share a child. And Jess was right, Bo knows they are friends especially since she’ll be staying with him and Inunaki while she’s in Japan, at least until Seiko’s party, but this felt different.

“You didn’t fall asleep on me, did you?” Jess asks in a teasing tone.

“Oh, uhm, no. Of course not.” 

“Can we continue this chat later? I can barely keep my eyes open.” Jess lets out a yawn which gains a chuckle from Meian but quickly embarrasses Jess, “I am so sorry!”

“It’s fine, really.” He clears his throat, “call me tomorrow then?”

Jess wiggles further under the comforter, hiding her face like some schoolgirl talking to her crush, “of course. I’ll call you at 1am just to even the score.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” 

**  
Meian walks out of his room, blush on his cheeks as he tries to swallow down his rapidly beating heart. He tries to slip into the kitchen to get a sports drink before his roommate can begin to question him, but he’s not fast enough. That or they were already waiting for him, which is more than likely. 

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend, captain.” 

“I don’t. It was just a friend.”

Inunaki shakes his head, “yeah okay. If you had a tail, it would wag out of control every time Jess calls.”

Meian goes to speak, his cheeks bright red by now but the name Inunaki says finally clicks with Tomas.

“Jess Jess? Like Bo’s Jess? Seiko’s mom?” He looks between his two teammates for confirmation but Inunaki waits for their captain to answer.

Meian just nods, his hand tightening around his phone. He isn’t trying to hide it, but he also doesn’t want to parade the information around. Plus, he isn’t completely certain that she feels the same way about him, so he’s waiting to ask her in person.

“Does Bo know?”

The room goes silent and almost feels like it stills as if the earth suddenly stopped rotating on its axis. Meian swallows the lump in this throat, something always ate away at him when Bokuto’s name came up when it involves Jess. He starts chewing on the inside of his cheek, nerves tightening on his stomach tight enough to make him feel sick.

Tomas holds up his hands. “Hey, secret’s safe with me. Just don’t let him find out on his own, ya know?”

* *  
March 17, 2026

Jess walks through the terminal, looking around at the people gather just outside it waiting for those getting off the plane. It’s the first time she’s arrived in Japan that Seiko isn’t there to pick her up and there’s a small prick at her heart. She really hates lying to her daughter, but she enjoys watching her face light up when she gets a surprise. 

It doesn’t take long for her to find the one picking her up, a small crowd around him, asking for a picture or autograph. She giggles as she walks closer to the group, grabbing a small notepad from her purse.

“Can I get an autograph, please?”

“Of course.” He reaches for the notepad, not looking up but quickly does when he feels the pad being tugged back. A huge smile breaks out on his face, “Jess!”

The crowd slowly disburses and he pulls her into a hug which she returns excitedly, hugs from a professional athlete just hit different, not to mention he almost towers over her 5’8” self. “Meian!” She mumbles into his chest, not wanting to let go just yet, partially because she’s exhausted from the flight but also because she likes the way his arms feel around her.

Meian refuses to let her carry her suitcase, saying that it wouldn’t look like a gentleman and teasingly asks if she’d be fine with ruining his reputation if pictures surfaced. 

**  
“I can sleep on the futon in the living room.” She crosses her arm with a huff. The two of them had been arguing for almost an hour now about sleeping arrangements, Inunaki giving up on mediating about twenty minutes ago.

“Absolutely not. My apartment, my rules.” Meian looks at her with some triumphant expression which just gets an eye roll from her.

“This is your room, Meian.” She follows him into the living room, right on his heels.

“You are my guest, please just go along with it.” He stops suddenly, turning around just in time for Jess to slam into his chest, not realizing that he stopped walking.

He grabs her arm to steady her, pulling her a bit closer without really thinking, their faces just inches apart. Meian can feel his cheeks heat up, the weight of her chest pressed against him quickly becoming clear to him. He tries to form a sentence, tries to speak, but when she looks up at him, biting on her lip, he loses all ability to function. 

Jess knows her face is bright red when she finally manages to look up at him, her breath getting caught in her throat. It is hard for her to even try to think, her train of thought going in a circle, as she becomes more aware of just how close the two of them are. 

It’s when she tries to look away that he uses his index finger to pull her chin up and she feels like melting right there in the middle of the room. For a moment it’s just the two of them, the true meaning to each text, phone call, and “oh I didn’t mean to call but are you busy?” finally surfacing and there’s nowhere for them to hide. There aren’t hours separating them or phone batteries that are just about to die to end the moment.

“You guys oka—”

Inunaki’s voice snaps them back into reality and the both shove each other away as if their touch burnt them. Both of them start trying to answer Inunaki, their words overlapping and meshing together.

“Everything is…”

“Great. We were just…”

“Bed.”

“Yes, bed.”

Jess quickly turns and bolts down the hall, closing the door a bit harshly as her back slides down it. She drops her face into her hands, silently cursing herself for being such an idiot. She was 32 years old, not 13, she has a child, yet here she is hiding like she had just been caught. Jess already knows the next few days are going to be long.

Meian has his back facing his roommate as he gets the futon step up, he hopes that his silence will tell the man to just leave. His heart thumping against his ribs, his thoughts going a mile a minute, wanting to just crawl under the blanket and just try again tomorrow.

Inunaki sits down on the couch and sighs as his captain finally looks at him. He simply raises his eyebrows as Meian fall backwards on the futon, hands covering his face, groaning.

“Just friends, huh?” Inunaki teases.

“Shut up.” Meian mutters in his hands, it’s official, he’s screwed.

* *  
March 19, 2026

“Inunaki! Meian!” Jess shouts, frantically walking down the hallway into the living room where they are. They briefly share a look at her appearance: half of her long brown hair is in a messy knot while the other half is straightened, she has on a button-up white dress shirt that’s completely unbuttoned and a pair of compression shorts. She’s holding a hanger with a pair of black dress pants in one hand and in the other is a hanger with a navy pencil skirt. “Which one?”

“Skirt.” Inunaki says as Meian tells her, “pants.”

“Let’s try this again,” she holds them out towards them again, “which one?”

“Pants.” Inunaki says as Meian tells her, “skirt.”

The two athletes shrink down in the cushions, both slightly afraid of the expression on Jess’s face as she yells that she doesn’t have time for this. “Call Bo.”

Meian almost drops his phone trying to pull it from his pocket before quickly dialing his number. When he hears the click of Bo answering, he puts it on speaker.

“What’s up, Cap?” Bo exclaims and Inunaki notices Jess’ demeanor seems to instantly calm, having a strong feeling that Meian picks up on it too.

“Jess needs you.”

“What’s wrong? Is she okay?” Worry drips from each word as it cracks through the phone’s speaker, something in Meian’s chest sinks. He’s been so worried about keeping his feeling to himself until he can talk to Jess, he never put much thought into if Bo still harbors feelings for her. Before he can do much more, the tone for a video call comes through and Bo’s worried expression fills the screen.

Meian flips the camera, Bo can see her but he can still see Bo and for some reason he feels that it might help the heavy weight in his stomach if he can read Bo’s expression. It softens, a small smile on his lips which is a stark difference to how he and Inunaki were handling the situation, it’s obvious that these two still know each other in a way that even with miles worth of distance couldn’t erase. How could Meian compete?

“One or two?”

“Two.” She lets out a sigh, “pants or skirt?”

“Skirt.”

A smile breaks out across her face, her regular cheerfulness returning. “Thank you! Love you Bo!” She shouts as she rushes back down the hallway, the three can hear the door shut before Meian fills the camera back around to show him and Inunaki.

“You two speak your own language.” The libero jokes, noticing how Meian stiffen beside him.

Bo scratches the back of his head, “that’s one way to look at it.”

**  
Jess comes rushing into the living room again, this time her hair has been fully straighten and pinned into a neat bun, her white dress shirt is now buttoned and tucked into the navy skirt and she’s sporting a matching navy blazer. She’s pulling at the sheer tights on her legs as she looks up at them, Bo still on the video call.

“Well?” 

“Perfect.” Meian says, almost like he’s in a daze before quickly clearing his throat, “I mean uhm, you look professional.”

Inunaki starts laughing as Bokuto just smiles, “you look like the next journalist for whatever paper or station you signed up for.”

A bit of red dusts Jess’s cheeks as she smiles, the nerves in her stomach tightening as the reality sets in. Jess is confident in many things, job interviews not so much, especially job interviews in foreign countries. Granted, she’d done this before, but back then she was running from something and didn’t have anything to lose, if she didn’t get this job, she’d miss the chance to be with her daughter again.

**  
Meian opens the door to see an exhausted looking Jess on the other side, she drags her bag on the floor as she shuffles into the apartment, her sheer tights clutched in her fist. If Meian hadn’t have caught her, she might’ve fallen face first on the floor, her nerves and stress have officially exhausted her.

“Was it that bad?” He drapes her arm over his shoulder, walking her to the couch before he takes her bag and hesitates on taking her tights from her. She holds back a laugh when she sees how red his face looks until she just shoves them in the side pocket of her bag, his expression screaming thank you.

“Not at all, I just wore myself out stressing. Plus I forgot how stressful transportation is.” She covers her eyes with her forearm, “there’s a lot riding on this interview too, ya know? Being around Seiko full-time is the whole reason I’m doing this.”

“Does she know that you might get a job out here?” He sits down on the other end of the couch, lifting her legs up and placing them on his lap.

“No one knew about it, but you.” She peeks over at him under her arm, smirking at the red that covers the tips of his ears.

* *  
March 20, 2026

To try to take her mind off of the interview, Meian suggested that the two go out somewhere which she quickly agrees. Neither of them had brought up the elephant in the room, the first night she was there and they jumped apart like two teenagers sneaking around or the fact that she hadn’t even bothered to tell Bo about her interview, he never asked about that.

He asked her to trust him, to let him surprise her on their destination and she happily obliged, which is why her eyes light up when they get to Nishiki Beach and she sees the palm trees that line it. Jess loves the beach, some of her favorite memories happened at some beach or another, but it’s also a place she always feels at peace. 

Years ago, she had been sitting on a beach when she closed her eyes, moved her finger around a map and decided when it landed on Japan, that’s where she’d move. She had been sitting on a beach when she decided to go through with her pregnancy and have Seiko. The three of them had been sitting at the beach when Bo told her that he’d keep Seiko full-time so she could take her dream job back in California.

They don’t really say much, basic small talk as they walk through the sand, watching the sun slowly set in front of them. Meian had been a bit too flustered when Jess actually agreed that he didn’t fully prepare, so they were both just sitting on the sand rather than a blanket but Jess swore to him it was no big deal. A comfortable silence falls over them as she leans her head on his shoulder, the red and orange hues covering everything in sight. 

“Hey Jess?” Meian’s hand is pressing into the sand between the two of them, the small grains imbedding into and sticking to his palm as his heart thumps into his ribcage. She just hums in response, it’s so low that he can’t hear her so a few moments of silence later, she lifts her head to look at him, her hand pressing on top of his.

“Meian?” She says softly, her eyes flickering up to his, noticing that he seems nervous as he bites the inside of his cheek, feeling his hand tighten underneath hers. The MSBY captain she’s used to is an easy-going goober, unless it’s game day, then he’s cool and confident, but right now he’s neither, he looks almost pale, like he’s going to pass out.

“I like you.” He internally cringes at his own choice of words, he was too old to be so vague about this topic, “I mean, I have feelings for you.”

Suddenly the weight of her hand on his is obvious and as hard as he tries, he just can’t read the expression in her eyes as she stares at him, head slightly tilted. The weight of holding in his confession is quickly replaced by his realization of a potential rejection, he hadn’t really taken the time to think about that.

“Meian—”

“I know, I didn’t think about Bo’s place in all of this. I’m sorry, just forget what I said.” He pushes himself up, needing to just get some physical distance between them, his chest feeling like it’s caving in as he tries to steady his racing thoughts. Part of him was planning on waiting until it was closer for her to go back to the states so the trip wouldn’t be awkward if she rejected him. But he’d been waiting a while now and who could pass up a romantic setting like a beach sunset?

“Shugo.” She stands up, stepping a bit closer to him when he stops, the use of his given name renders him speechless. 

It wasn’t that she’s never used it, she has, but it sounds different right this time. Maybe it sounds different due to the sound of the breeze in the nearby palm trees, the caws from the birds above them or even the low hum of the surrounding conversations, but he wants to think it sounds different on purpose.

“I have feelings for you too.”

* *  
March 23, 2026

“’Go! ‘Go!” Seiko runs up, crashing into the unexpectant middle blocker’s legs.

“Seiko, what did we talk about?” Jess shoots Meian an apologetic smile that he just waves off, he honestly didn’t mind. 

She looks down at her shoes, “not to run into people. Sorry ‘Go.”

“It’s okay, but thank you for apologizing.” Meian squats down, getting eye level with the six-year-old, “ready to go?”

“YES!” She jumps up, turning to show off the owl backpack she’s wearing, “I packed everything we need in here!”

Meian chuckles as Jess walks up to him, smiling, “thanks for coming today.”

“Thank you for inviting me.” He reaches down to squeeze her hand but Seiko’s voice makes him jump.

“’Go, what animal do you wanna see?” The three of them make their way onto the train, Seiko demanding to sit between them.

“Speckled Bears, they look pretty cool.”

“I KNOW!” She shrinks a little in her seat when she catches a ‘you need to lower your voice’ look from Jess, “I want to see all of them!”

**  
“’GO LOOK!” Seiko runs towards an animal exhibit, pointing, “they remind me of you!”

Jess can’t help but to burst into a giggle fit, much to Meian’s surprise who just looks at the Giraffes.

“’Cause you’re so tall!” Seiko continues her comparison and Jess starts to struggle to catch her breath from laughing.

“I see we have jokes this morning.”

Jess smiles, looping her arm with his causing his cheek to burn, “you know, she didn’t stop talking about her favorite volleyball player taking her to the zoo?”

“Her favorite?” His eyes widen, lip quivering as his voice cracks, “really?”

“Yep.” Jess’s chest starts to feel full, seeing how happen her daughter made him. One of the reasons Jess told herself that she didn’t care to bother with feelings or dating, is because she didn’t know how they’d fit into Seiko’s life, but here with Meian, it doesn’t seem like it’d be hard. To be fair, it’s almost effortless for the two of them to just sync together. 

He puffs out his chest, getting a laugh from Jess, “I am a pretty good player.”

“Oh yeah. You’re my favorite middle blocker.”

Meian feels himself short-circuiting, trying his hardest to keep himself from wearing the goofiest smile ever as Jess leans her head on his upper arm. Seiko turns around to look at them, going to say something, but stops. She tilts her head as she watches her mom laugh and ‘Go trying to not smile, a big smile on her face now.

When they catch up to her, Jess reaches out her hand to hold Seiko’s but instead she watches as her daughter walks over and grabs Meian’s instead. He looks down at the little girl who just beams her brightest smile at him, shooting him through the heart.

“Awwwoooooo!” 

“Whatcha doing there, ‘Ko?” He squats down next to her, watching her cup her hands around her mouth.

“I’m trying to speak wolf,” she states, matter-of-factly, “awwwwooooooo!”

The Chinese Grey Wolf just stares at her, almost looking unamused at her shenanigans before it simply turns and walks away.

**  
“MINGOS! MINGOS!” Seiko lets go of Meian’s hand, rushing over to the birds of various shades of pink. She jumps up and down, squealing with delight, recently her favorite color was pink so of course she became obsessed with Flamingos.

“I thought she liked Owls?”

Jess shrugs, “that was so last week, Shugo.”

“Y’all really keep me on my toes.” He shakes his head, getting a playful slap on his arm.

“The best women tend to do that!” She winks, walking over to take a picture of Seiko posing in front of the “mingos”.

Seiko’s eyes widen when she sees they are near the Petting Area, eagerly wanting to hold the little Guinea Pigs. Meian freaks out for a moment when she starts crying, thinking maybe one of them bit her until Jess puts out an arm, showing him it’s because she’s that excited. 

She does the same when she gets to pet the sheep, repeatedly telling everyone just how cute they are before she tries to convince Meian to keep one for her at his apartment. He quickly blames Inunaki for not being able to, laughing when she said she was going to have a talk with him as she crossed her arms, tapped her foot, pouting.

**  
They are making their way towards the Aviary Zones when Seiko gently tugs on Meian’s shorts, he immediately stops, turning to the young girl.

“Yes ‘Ko?”

She lets out a small yawn, rubbing her eyes as she lifts up her arms, a bit too exhausted for words.

“Momma will carry you, hun.”

Seiko jerks away when Jess reaches to pick her up and instead leans into Meian’s legs. Meian pokes his tongue out at Jess, leaning down to scoop Seiko up. She leans her head on Meian’s shoulder as he adjusts her on his right hip.

“If you want, we can leave ‘Ko.”

“No!” She tries to shout but a yawn interrupts here, “have to…see…’Go’s bears.”

He looks over to Jess who points to a sign, a large arrow indicating which direction the Speckled Bears are in and he feels this overwhelming warmth in his chest. By the time the reach the exhibit, Seiko is sleeping peacefully on his shoulder and Jess smiles as she waves her hand, getting him to take a step over to get the perfect picture.

Meian starts to walk over towards Jess when an older couple stops them, the woman speaking first.

“Let’s me take one of all three of you,” she smiles, reaching for the camera. Jess thanks the woman, leaning into Meian’s left side, smiling as he wraps his arm around her waist.

The woman takes a couple pictures before handing the camera back, “you have such a lovely family.”

“Oh…well, uhm…” Meian starts, getting flustered at her words and the old man shakes his head.

“Families come in various ways, enjoy it.”

* *  
March 25, 2026

It’s extremely early, sleep still weighing down Jess’s eyelids as she tries to walk into the airport, eyes half opened. Meian quickly grabs her arm, pulling her slightly out of the way of another patron, avoiding a collision. 

“You are not a morning person.” He teases, getting a sleepy glare from her before she leans against his side, using him to help her stand up.

“This shouldn’t be considered morning.” She yawns again, looking down at her watch, “why are you so awake?”

“I went for a run before picking you up.” Meian had offered to take her back to the airport so that Bokuto wouldn’t have to wake Seiko up and drag two sleepy girls through the airport, but he also did so for a selfish reason, he wanted to see her alone once more.

“Are you sure you’re human?” She pokes his chest, raising an eyebrow at him which makes him laugh. He was going to miss her.

“You have everything in your carry on? Do you need anything?”

“Sleep.” She moves to stand in front of him, pressing her face into his chest, mumbling something along the lines of “yes dad, geez”.

He wraps his arms around her, leaning down to press his lips to the top of her head. They hadn’t really defined what they were after their mutual confessions on the beach, but Meian understood. It wasn’t just her that Jess had to think about and on top of that, she had the weight of a potential job offer to consider. However, that didn’t stop either of them from flirting with the other, for touches and looks to linger.

She nuzzles her face into his chest, “I don’t wanna go.”

He brings a hand up, stroking the back of her head, fingers running through Jess’ hair as she hums in response, trying to bury her face deeper in his chest. Meian wasn’t expecting it to be this hard to see her off, to let her go and it’s taking all his self-control to not tell her to just stay.

I don’t want you to go. Is what Meian wants to say but he settles for, “I know, but you’ll be back soon.”

She sighs, pulling away, glancing up to see the same sad look in his eyes that she knows is on her face. She thought leaving Seiko was hard, but this time rivals that feeling, mostly because things changed between Meian and her. There’s more weighing on her getting this job and coming back, she would always be Seiko’s mom even if she didn’t get it, but would Meian still be okay? Then there was the uncertainty of how Bo would react, which was why she wanted to be the one to talk to Bo but Meian said he wanted to, something about some kind of code and who was she to argue with man logic? 

“I should head to the gate.”

“Call me when you land?” He runs his fingers through his hair, “after you call ‘Ko of course.”

A sleepy smile creeps across her face, “of course.”

She pulls him into a hug before digging through her purse for her ticket and passport, secretly wishing she asked for longer off. Jess starts to walk off before a hand grabs her wrist, pulling her back into a broad chest. 

Meian hugs her a little tighter this time and she melts into his arms. Their eyes lock when he lets go, leaning down, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, “until next time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr: kaitycole


End file.
